Revelations
by Valerie Chow
Summary: Conan gets into an accident and his secret is discovered by Ran. Yusaku and Yukiko arrives and complicates matters. It is the end of the beginning. Or is it? [On Hold]
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone!! This is the first time posting a fanfic to this list,   
and my first time writing Conan fanfiction too. ^_^ I hope you will   
like it!! Please send any comments or criticisms to   
yeohk@pacific.net.sg  
Thanks!! ^_^  
  
Revelations   
A Detective Conan Fanfiction  
  
by Valerie Chow  
  
Disclaimers: All characters used in this story are they property of   
Aoyama Gosho and others. This story was done with the motive of   
entertainment and not for any form of profit whatsoever. In other   
words, they don't belong to me, other than the story itself.   
  
*****************************************************  
  
Chapter 1  
  
  
Ran closed the door slowly and yawned. It was nearly 12   
midnight and she was tired. She should be at home in bed at this time   
of the day, like her father, not in the hospital but she was worried   
about Conan-kun. After being sent to the hospital early this morning   
and being operated on, he still had not regained consciousness.   
Professor Agasa was nearly out of his mind and she herself was no   
better. Ayumi-tachi had left earlier under the threat of parental   
displeasure but had promised to come early next morning. There was   
really nothing they could do for the boy, except wait. And pray.   
Perhaps a cup of coffee would do something for her nerves. The   
Professor was still inside the CPU ward, he would inform her if there   
were any changes.  
  
She sighed. There were times like this when she missed   
Shinichi the most. The solid rock of comfort he always provided for   
her, and his reassurance that things would turn out all right, as   
they always did when things went wrong. When Shinichi left-no, not   
left, went away for a period of time, Conan-kun had somehow, without   
her realizing it, taken the place of Shinichi. Sometimes, she even   
thought she could see Shinichi staring at her out of those pair of   
intelligent and grave eyes, but no, she must not imagine things.   
Hadn't she seen Shinichi and Conan-kun together at the school   
festival? And the time when they came back from the fiasco with the   
Memory Egg, when she suspected that Conan-kun was Shinichi, didn't   
she see both of them at the same time?? And the countless other times   
when all her suspicions were deflected....Conan-kun could not, is not   
Shinichi no matter what her subconscious tried to say. Of course,   
both of them have a lot to explain once they come back; Conan-kun   
from his coma and Shinichi from his er..where ever he is! What was   
Conan-kun thinking about, running straight towards the gunfire   
instead of away?! She knew he had an insatiable curiosity about   
things but really!!   
  
Engrossed in her thoughts, it took Ran a minute to realize   
that someone else was in the room where Conan-kun laid. Someone other   
that Professor Agasa. Tiptoeing quietly, she reached for the handle   
of the door and prepared to do her worst on whoever that was trying   
to harm Conan-kun. Then stopped. The voices seemed familiar....she   
crept closer.  
  
"But how did you get here?!! I tried to contact you but you   
were not in!!" the Professor was stuttering.  
  
"Nevermind how we got here, how is my son?" Yusaku Kudo was   
tense and worried. Beside him, Yukiko sniffed softly.   
  
"Not good. The doctors are not very optimistic about his   
recovery. They got him in the ribs and near his heart, Yusaku-san.   
They say it was a miracle that he is still alive! I'm so sorry,   
Yusaku-san, you left Shinichi in my care and...and....," the   
Professor seemed near the edge of a nervous breakdown.   
  
Yusaku shook his head grimly. "No, it wasn't your fault. You   
couldn't have stopped him even if you had been there. We couldn't   
stop him from investigating the whole matter himself, how could you?   
He will get better. He must!!"   
  
Ran closed the door again, shaking. She couldn't accept what   
she was hearing. Couldn't believe it. This wasn't real. She must have   
heard something wrong. No, she was delusional. That's it. Too little   
sleep. She is imagining that she saw and heard Shinichi's parents in   
there, talking to the Professor. Calling Conan-kun Shinichi. Its all   
a dream, made up by her tired mind as a result of her worry over both   
Shinichi and Conan. It simply CANNOT be true! Shinichi is not lying   
there, as Conan-kun, unconscious. It's a dream, a nightmare!! She   
needs sleep. Yes, sleep would be good. Feeling a tug on her skirt,   
she looked down. And saw the strange young girl that lived with the   
Professor. Haibara Ai. Looking at her with a knowing look in her   
eyes. And also a hint of compassion and understanding. Haibara-san   
too had been hospitalized along with Conan-kun, but her injuries were   
less serious.  
  
She didn't know why she followed her as she walked away. It   
seemed almost natural, that she followed this strange girl-child,   
that all her questions and worries would be answered. All the weird   
things that had happened this past year, all could be answered by   
this Haibara Ai. All sorts of thoughts collided in her head as she   
followed her.  
  
They went into an empty waiting room and sat down. Silence.   
Neither of them knew how to proceed, when it was time to start.  
  
"Is Conan-kun...."  
"You have a lot of questions..."  
  
Both of them gave a start. And smiled.   
  
Ai sighed. "First, I wish to apologise. To both of you. I was   
all because of me that things had degraded to such a mess. Even him   
being injured was my fault. Well, at least partially," Ai took a deep   
breath. "I knew that one day, you and I would sit down and talk about   
things, but not like this. And not under these circumstances. You   
might hate me, or even wish to kill me after hearing the whole story,   
but I have only one thing to ask of you. Forgive him. His suffering   
is never lesser than yours. Perhaps even more."  
  
"I assume that the him you are talking about is referring to   
Shinichi-and Conan-kun," Ran said neutrally. It amazed her that she   
could feel so calm and distant about the whole thing, when all she   
wanted to do was shake all the answers out of the young child sitting   
in front of her. But no, this was no child. She would never think of   
her as a child ever again. Those wise and old eyes looking out at her   
under the fringes were not those of a child, never those of a child.   
  
And so she heard her out. And grew more enraged, and more   
saddened with each word that passed out of Haibara's mouth. She tried   
to understand the motivations behind Conan-no Shinichi's actions and   
found that while she agreed with some actions, she simply could not   
understand the others. Namely, the decision to keep her out of   
everything. The anger needed an outlet; she needed an outlet to let   
out the frustrations that were preying on her mind, driving her over   
the point of insane fury. They were very close friends at the very   
least! Why couldn't he trust her with his secret? All the talk about   
being afraid of the so-called Black Organisation getting her was all   
rubbish! Couldn't he trust her to take care of herself? She was the   
karate champion at their school for godsake!! And Haibara! Making   
that sort of stupid medicine that caused the whole mess in the first   
place! Why would anyone want to do such a think was beyond her   
comprehension. Walking rigidly towards the far end of the room, pass   
the wide-eyed Haibara, she punched the wall with all the pent up   
frustrations and worry inside her. And had the satisfaction of seeing   
the wall crack and splinter.  
  
"I feel much better now," Ran announced. Turning, she saw   
Haibara staring at her, mouth wide-open in apprehension.  
She began to laugh. Laughed till tears ran down her cheeks. And   
discovered that she was actually crying. But the tears, where they   
for herself, or for the boy who had her heart, lying a few doors   
away, unconscious?  
  
***************************************************************  
  
  
Ran wiped her tears and took a deep breath to calm herself   
down before facing what laid beyond the door. Haibara had wisely   
decided to return to her room after the confession session, judging   
that she would not be terribly welcome at this present moment. After   
she had stopped crying, Haibara had continued her story. Apparently,   
on the way to school this morning, the two of them had spotted two   
well-known members of the Black Organisation. Well-known at least to   
them. After getting rid of Ayumi-tachi with some difficulty, they had   
followed the two members. Spying on them was not easy and they had   
been discovered, leading to the gunfight. Shinichi had tried using   
the bow-tie voice-changer to mislead the two men, but they were still   
injured. Shinichi was shot twice while trying to shield Haibara. They   
had barely managed to stumble to the main road before collapsing and   
were then brought to the hospital.   
  
Opening the door, she heard a shocked gasp and Professor   
Agasa began babbling. "Ran! Why are you back so soon?! Ah....Yusaku-  
san and his wife were just here to visit a friend and thought to have   
a look at Conan-kun too and the doctor was just here just now and   
said that if Conan-kun would be out of danger after tonight and   
and......" he trailed off when he saw that he didn't have her   
attention at all.   
  
Ran was staring at Yukiko. There was a tense silence in the   
air, as the two women stared at each other in wordless communication.   
Then Yukiko spoke.   
  
"You know." It wasn't a question. Ran nodded. "I'm very sorry   
indeed, Ran, that you have to know about this under these   
circumstances," Yukiko's eyes very compassionate as they looked at   
the young woman in front of her.   
  
"Its okay. There is still a lot of things I am confused   
about, namely how he came to be in this state but it can wait till he   
wakes up. And then he is going to pay for all the suffering I'm going   
through!" Ran gave a watery smile. "He will wake up, won't he?"  
  
"He will. I promise," Yusaku stated quietly. He had a great   
deal of respect for this young woman in front of him and hope his son   
knew what a precious gift he had in her. Beside him, Professor Agasa   
was still gapping silently.  
  
"Now I suppose I just have to figure out how to tell Otou-san   
all of this without him killing Shinichi before he even wakes up. And   
Okaa-san of course," it never occurred to Ran to keep such a thing   
from her father, danger or no. She had more faith in her father than   
that, even though he may act like an egoistic fool most of the time.  
  
Yusaku looked at her steadily. Then he smiled. "He knows,   
Ran. Every bit of it. Who did you think contacted us to come?"  
  
"WHAT??!!!"  
  
*****************************************************************   
  
  
"Ring ring." The phone in Vermouth's apartment rang out   
loudly in the silent night.  
  
"Moshi moshi," the cultured voice of the one known as Chris   
Vineyard to some spoke without any trace of accent.  
  
"I've a job that you might find interesting, my dear." A   
man's voice came clearly over the phone.  
  
"Really. Do tell," Vermouth purred.  
  
After five minutes, Vermouth put down the phone. "Well, well,   
well. It seems our games has ended, cool guy." She smiled. It was not   
a pleasant smile.  
  
"But perhaps, there is time for one more game, before it's   
time to pick the apple..."  
  
To be continued.....  
  
Well, what do you think? Again, please comment!!! Thank You! ^_^ 


	2. Chapter 2

Revelations   
A Detective Conan Fanfiction  
  
by Valerie Chow  
  
Author's notes: Thanks a lot for all those who took the trouble to review and comment on my story, they gave me the courage to continue on. Thanks very much. ^_^ Please continue to give C & C to yeohk@pacific.net.sg   
Arigato! ^_^  
  
Disclaimers: All characters used in this story are they property of Aoyama Gosho and others.   
This story was done with the motive of entertainment and not for any form of profit whatsoever.  
  
*************************************************  
  
Chapter 2  
  
In the end, they decided to have a conference in one of the meeting rooms of the hospital. Ran was surprised that they were allowed to even stay that long after visiting hours, let alone have one of the meeting rooms, but apparently, Kudo Yusaku was not a world-renowned writer for nothing. Of course, Yukiko would claim that it was ALL due to HER charms.   
  
Mouri Kogoro was not pleased at being roused out of his bed barely two hours after he had fallen asleep, but had grudgingly got up after his daughter told him in no uncertain terms that if he was not out of bed and in the hospital in half hour's time, he was not going to get any food, not to mention sake in the next three months. And what did he MEAN by keeping such a big secret of Conan-kun's identity from her, OTOU-SAN?  
  
Kisaki Eri was no less pleased about being out of bed at that hour, not when she had a case tomorrow, but she loved her daughter. For such an important discussion to take place without her was unthinkable. And she had a few choice words to say to that no-good husband of hers when they had finished. How COULD he keep it from her??? Granted, they had separated, but legally, she was still his wife, and was entitled to KNOW about these things!   
  
Haibara Ai sat silently at one corner, her expression an enigma as usual. Inside however, she was not above feeling a bit of unease and anxiety, no matter what she showed outside. In certain ways, this was as much of an ordeal for her as it was telling Ran the whole story. Kudo-kun should be the one telling her everything, not her! There was no telling what the others felt about her at this present moment. Ran's reaction, though slightly intimidating, was not entirely unexpected. But what of the others?  
  
Beside the silent Ai, Professor Agasa sat, also deep in thoughts. After recovering from the shocks of Ran and her father both knowing about the secret Shinichi and he both tried so hard to keep, he was thinking hard. Shinichi and he were both so engrossed in trying to prevent Ran from discovering everything that they had overlooked another potential person who was also in daily contact with Shinichi. The scientist part of him was very interested in finding out exactly when and how Mouri-san had found out while the other part of him was trying to think of what Shinichi would say about this when he woke up.  
  
Ran drummed her fingers on top on the tables impatiently. She was not, to put it mildly, in a good mood. To find out, at the end of a very tiring day, that the young boy, whom she treated like a little brother was actually her childhood best friend and potential love interest, and that said boy, along with eccentric inventor neighbor had been doing all sorts of things to try to keep it from her for the best part of the past year is not guaranteed to put a girl in a good mood. Add in a father who had, for all intents and purposes, known about the whole thing and had also kept her in the dark made up a very very pissed off Mouri Ran. And you do not want a karate champion known to kick down doors and smash moving car windows mad at you.  
  
"Well, OTOU-SAN? Do you intend to begin your story any time soon? Like maybe sometime this century?" Ran stared balefully at her father.  
  
Kogoro winched. He had not expected things to become like this. When he first contacted the Kudos sometime back, he had been curious, and not altogether very pleased to know that the idiot high school detective whom his daughter had feelings for (he was not BLIND contrary to popular belief. He just chose not to acknowledge things that he was not happy with.) and was mourning over was in fact living under his very roof and hitting him with sleeping darts every time there was a case. He had agreed to keep it a secret only after much persuasion from Kudo Yusaku. To make him promise to keep a silent eye on That Boy would require a miracle, but after hearing much of the story, he had discovered that, to his horror, he had developed a sneaking respect for That Boy. For a person to maintain a living farce day after day for every single hour required guts. That was why he had undertaken it upon himself to contact the Kudos after That Boy was hospitalized. And break to them the news that their son was in very grave danger.  
  
He sighed. There was no help for it. Things had come to a head and he had to come clean if he wanted to keep his life. Ran was not happy with him and he did not like the looks Eri was shooting him either.   
  
"Ahem, err, well, what did you want me to say? Yes, I did know about Kudo Shinichi being Conan. Yes, I knew all about the so-called Black Organisation and yes, I was the one who contacted the Kudos!! What is so surprising about that??" Kogoro nearly shouted.   
  
Ran was taken aback. "Well, for starters, if YOU KNEW, how could you keep it from me? And HOW, in the names of the seven heavens DID YOU FIND OUT!!" Ran fired back.  
  
"Don't swear. I taught you better than that, Ran," Kogoro had regained his composure and had somehow lit up a cigarette when Ran was shouting, only to have the cigarette plucked out of his fingers in the next instant by Eri.  
  
"PAY ATTENTION!" Eri thundered at the same time Ran said "I am not swearing and DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!!"  
  
"All right all right, no need to get huffy about it," Kogoro leaned back in his chair.   
  
"I first got suspicious about it after falling asleep in the middle of a case and then waking up only to find that 'I' had somehow solved the case while I was fast asleep. Without any recollection whatsoever. Even if I am proud of my detective skills, I am not THAT clever."  
  
Eri snorted. Kogoro glared at her and she looked away, fighting to keep the smile from forming on her face.   
  
"I began to suspect that someone was solving the cases for me and began to observe the people around me. The two most obvious suspects were Ran and Conan who were always with me. I know my daughter. She may not be stupid, but evidently, she inherited none of the fine detective skills her good old dad has to my ever lasting regret." Ran glared at her father indignantly. Of all the nerve.......  
  
"So Ran was out. That left Conan. And that was where I got stuck for some time. For a seven-year-old child to be able to solve all the cases was practically impossible!! It's an insult, not only to me, but also to the whole detective force!! Then I began to wonder. Conan was a very weird child. He knew things no seven year old should know. How many seven year olds know about guns and bullets the way even Megure-kebu doesn't? And all those sleeping, they took place only after Conan came to live with us. Heck, the first case I had for a long time came the first day Ran brought him home! But still, the main stumbling block was his age. Then came Hattori Heiji. All those slips he made about Conan being Kudo, and the lousy way he tried to cover it up, it made me think further. Conan appeared around the same time Kudo disappeared. He displayed an uncanny attitude about the various dead bodies or bloody incidents we got ourselves into. Instead of running away from them, he ran TOWARDS them. That in itself was strange. Then, there was the fear. He was never afraid, afraid for Ran maybe, but never for himself. He was also peculiarly protective of Ran, a 'big sister' he just met. He even risked his life many times for her. All these were not the actions of a normal seven year old. He couldn't, could he, be Kudo, in actuality? But if he was, what was he doing in a child's body? This is not a show; this is real life! People do not just shrink back to small children as and when they like."  
  
Kogoro paused for a while. "But my suspicions would not go away. So I decided to go straight to the source and contacted the Kudos to find out the truth. I knew, that if Ran did not know, even if I confronted Kudo with the truth, he would not tell me. I would have better luck with his parents. And Kudo-san here, after hearing my story, flew down with his wife one day without HIM knowing."  
  
"We had a long talk. And I agreed to keep the matter a secret. Also to inform them if anything undue happens. Which did, this morning."  
  
Ran was staring at her father, open-mouthed. She never expected such a degree of reasoning from him. She trusted him, but not his detective skills, no matter what he claimed. Her mother, she noticed, too was looking at her father with new eyes and a sense of growing respect. Could they be......? Shinichi's parents were smiling; in fact, his father was actually smirking! Professor Agasa looked as shocked as she felt, but then, his expression turned thoughtful Haibara, as usual, was expressionless.   
  
Kogoro looked around in exasperation. "Give me some credit, won't you? I may not be as good a detective as that idiot Kudo but I was once a policeman!! I DO know how to put two and two together!! I was not once the most promising young officer simply because I was good at judo you know!! Eri!! You should have known me better than that at least!! Ran is young, but even you...." Kogoro gave up. "Am I really that bad?"  
  
"No Otou-san, you just sometimes act like it!" Ran hugged her father tightly. She heard him grumble slightly and smiled. Eri too was smiling slightly. "But that doesn't mean that you get off easy!! How could you not TELL me??"  
  
And so it went on for the rest of the night.   
  
  
To be continued..... 


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, here's the third chapter. Many thanks to my invaluable pre-readers that helped me improve this chapter which had caused all sorts of problems for me. -_-' Anyway, hope you enjoy and please, C & C!! Thanks!!  
  
Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
**********************************************  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Kisaki Eri nudged the door open gently. Kudo Yukiko looked up blearily from her seat beside Shinichi's bed and gave a small smile. Ran was curled up on the sofa tucked away in a corner of the room.   
  
"Thank you Eri-san," Yukiko said quietly, accepting the cup of hot coffee she gave her. "Ran just fell asleep."  
  
Eri covered Ran with her jacket and took a seat beside Yukiko. Reaching out to gasp the other woman's limp hand, she asked in a low tone to avoid waking up Ran, "Why don't you get some sleep, Yukiko-san? You've been up all night."  
  
"I can't sleep," Yukiko stood up and began to pace up and down the small, narrow room. She wasn't used feeling so helpless; even when she and her husband first discovered Shinichi's predicament, they had at least been able to DO something. Even if was something as small as flying back to check on him. And after leaving him in Tokyo, they hadn't been idle either. This was the first time she wasn't able to do something to actively help her son in anyway. And she hated it.  
  
"He will be all right, Yukiko-san. Don't worry so much. The doctors here are the best in Tokyo, if anyone can make him better, they can."  
  
"I know. Yusaku said as much. But...but Eri-san, he is my son! How could I not worry for him? He's all Yusaku and I have! All the money, all the fame in the world won't mean anything to me if he is....if he is...." Yukiko could not carry on. Eri patted her back comfortingly.   
  
"Ever since we received news about his injury, I had been thinking. About the kind of parents Yusaku and I are. How many parents would leave their teenage son in Japan and migrate to America? And how many parents would leave behind their seventeen year old son who had shrunk back into a seven year old child because of some stupid drug invented by some organisation in one country while they are in another continent entirely? NONE! Only WE have done that! And when something happened to Shinichi, WE were always the last ones to know about it!! What KIND of parents are we? I have failed utterly in being a mother!" Yukiko dissolved into sobs. "If anything happens to Shinichi, I will never forgive myself!!"   
  
"Yukiko!! Get a hold of yourself!!" Eri said sharply. "Getting hysterical now won't help matters! So you have been a bad parent, well, so what? Be a better one when Shinichi-kun wakes up! Everyone makes mistakes, hell, even I do! The important thing is to learn from your mistakes and not to make them again! I'm sure that Shinichi-kun understands your reasons for leaving him behind in Japan. And from what I can tell, you did try to persuade him to join you in America once you found out about his situation, but he refused. As you have said, he is seventeen, he can look after himself. And even if you had been here with him, in Japan, would you have been able to prevent him from getting shot?"   
  
"But...but..."  
  
"But nothing. This is no time to waste on recriminations and self-pity. The important thing now is to get him well and about again. The rest can wait for later."  
  
Yukiko stared at Eri in amazement and chagrin. It was one thing to be wallowing in self-pity and self-blame but another thing entirely to be told that you are a silly ass to do so. She had always known about the force of Eri's character, but this was the first time she really faced this side of her. Pulling herself together, she faced Eri and said "Thank you, Eri-san. I needed that." She smiled wryly, no wonder Shinichi was always so afraid of her.   
  
"Quite right. Yukiko, how many times must I tell you to stop blaming yourself? It was not entirely your fault. I must carry some of the blame too. Eri-san, thank you very much for your help in cheering up my wayward wife." Yusaku walked into the room, followed by Kogoro.  
  
"I talked to the doctor just now. Shinichi is presently out of danger. Now, we just have to wait for him to wake up. Eri-san, Kogoro-san, you have been up all night, why don't you go home for a rest? We will send Ran-san back once she wakes up," Yusaku continued as he walked towards his wife and placed his hands gently on her shoulders.   
  
"Don't bother, I don't think Ran would leave the hospital before HE wakes up. I will just go home and pick up some changes of clothes for her before coming back. Once HE wakes up, HE and I are going to have a little chat about sleeping darts and voice-changing bow-ties, among other things," Kogoro scowled. "Eri, are you going back to your house? Let me give you a ride." Eri nodded and they both left the room.  
  
"Where is the Professor?" Yukiko asked.   
  
"He is with Haibara-san. He told me he had also notified Hattori-san, and that he would be coming along sometime this afternoon," Yusaku sighed. "Tell me again we did the right thing, Yukiko." Alone now except for his wife, a sleeping Ran and an unconscious Shinichi, Yusaku finally let his mask drop and looked down on his wife. He was no longer a self-possessed, world-renowned author; just a father, desperately worried for his son.   
  
"We did the right thing, Yusaku." Husband and wife clung to each other for mutual comfort as they prayed for their only son.   
  
Ran slept sweetly on.  
  
************************************************  
  
Kudo Shinichi opened his eyes slowly. Bright fluorescent lights shone directly into his eyes making him wince in pain. Where am I? He wondered. Slowly, he pushed himself upright, giving a grunt of pain when his movement pulled at his stitches. Looking around, he noticed that he was on a hospital bed. Numerous wires and tubes were strapped to his arm, connecting him to a very complicated looking machine that show his heart beat. His torso was covered with bandages....he seemed to be in a hospital. Brilliant deduction, Sherlock Holmes, anyone can see that, he thought wryly.   
  
"Crash!" Shinichi looked up to a shocked Ran in the doorway with a pile of broken dishes at her feet. Her hands were shaking as she brought them to her lips in shock and her eyes swam with unshed tears.  
  
"Shinichi! You're awake! Doctor! He's awake!!" Ran ran off, leaving a very puzzled and confused Kudo Shinichi behind. Wait a minute, 'Shinichi'?  
  
************************************************  
  
Dr. Fujisawa shone a small pocket light into Shinichi's eyes.   
  
"Well? How's he doing?" Yukiko asked anxiously. Three pairs of eyes stared at the good doctor, frightening him just a bit with their intensity.   
  
"Er....Ahem....well, all signs indicate that he is well out of injury now. In fact, if he continues to improve as he is doing now, Edogawa-san would soon be out of the hospital before you know it! Young man," Dr Fujisawa turned to address the silent Shinichi. "You are very lucky indeed, not many people can sustain that kind of injury and still be alive. Take care of yourself okay?"  
  
"Thank you sensei," Yusaku murmured as he showed the doctor out. After looking at Ran and Shinichi, Yukiko followed her husband out, saying something about getting her make-up touched up after being sleepless for an entire night.   
  
The door closed behind them. Pause. Silence.   
  
Shinichi was staring hard at Ran, willing her to look at him while his thoughts ran in all directions. Her presence in his room, with his parents, the fact she called him 'Shinichi' and her refusal to look at him after that first time; it didn't take a genius to know that the cat was out of the bag. How the pussy got out was a matter he intended to get to the bottom of, but now, he had to try and explain matters so that she would not be mad. Or at least, not SO mad.  
  
Gods, of all the times for this to happen! He had envision himself telling Ran the truth about himself dozens of times, tried to predict the questions she would ask and her reactions as well as how he would answer, but not like this. He wasn't prepared, and he didn't know how much Ran knew, how much to explain, much less how to start the conversation.  
  
As Shinichi racked his brains for a way to breach the silent gap between them, Ran was doing a lot of thinking on her own. It was one thing to know, intellectually, that Conan was in fact, Shinichi but another thing entirely, to face him. She didn't really know what to say. After one whole year of nearly being apart, or so she thought, she was finding it hard to say anything. Looking down at her fingers which were clutching her skirt tightly, she reminded herself again that this was Shinichi she was facing, the childhood friend she had known forever. Not, as she thought, a seven-year-old precocious child that she always thought to be wise beyond his years. He had lied to her. For one whole year, as she waited painfully for his return, she realised. Every time she cried because of him, he had known.   
  
"Why?"  
  
Shinichi looked up, startled.   
  
Ran was standing in front of him, hurt and bewilderment in her eyes. Shinichi looked away. He couldn't face the pair of accusing eyes in front of him.  
  
"Why did you lie to me?" Ran repeated. "For one whole year, you kept me in the dark. As I worried and wondered where you were, tried to figured out why you seemed to be avoiding me, you had been right beside me all the time! When I cried for you, you were right there beside me! You KNEW how I felt! But you did nothing, said nothing. Was it so funny for you to see me crying and longing for you? Did it boost your ego to see me like this?" Ran was near tears as Shinichi stared at her in shock and dismay.   
  
NO! NO! NO! It wasn't supposed to be like this! She wasn't supposed to feel this way! She was supposed to get mad at him, then he'll explain everything and beg for her forgiveness, then she'll beat him up or something....not like this! Never like this! He never meant to hurt her! She was dearer than life to him. To realise that he was the one hurting her, it was more than enough to make him regret his actions for the past year. He began to see the other side of his actions as others might view it. As he saw tears silently dripping down her face, he felt as if someone had plunged a knife deep into his heart and slowly grinded it in. It hurt even more than the times he was transformed back into Shinichi or Conan. In fact, he would gladly welcome the pain just to remove the tears from her eyes. He had vowed never to let her cry again, even if his place in her heart was taken by another, but now, here he was, making her cry. Again.   
  
Clenching his small fists around the bed sheets, he swallowed the lump in his throat painfully and looked at Ran.   
  
"Ran," his throat tightened and he had to gulp audibly before he could continue. "No Ran! You've got it wrong! I didn't keep the truth from you because of that! I kept it from you for your safety! If you knew about it, and the Black Organisation found out, who knows what they would do to you! I couldn't let that happen, even if it meant keeping the whole thing from you! I will never forgive myself if anything happen to you because of me! I love you! More than anything else in the whole world!"  
  
"I know. I know you love me," smiling through her tears, Ran reached out gently to brush the bangs from Shinichi's forehead. "You told me once, remember? When I lost my memory? I just wanted to hear it straight from your mouth again, with me in the full possession of the facts. I love you too, but you knew it, didn't you? A long time ago. But, Shinichi, if I was that important to you, couldn't you have at least trusted me with the truth? Was it that hard, for you to trust me with everything? Or did you feel that letting me know would only increase your burden?"  
  
Shinichi looked straight into Ran's eyes, trying desperately to convey his sincerity and feelings to her. He understood her fear and uncertainty about him. After all, before he 'disappeared', their relationship, while just a step higher than normal friends, had never progressed to the stage where they openly admitted their feelings for each other. Even now, when both of them knew each other's feelings, things were still unsure and rocky. His actions didn't make things better. He needed to reassure her of his love, and restore the trust he had unknowingly chipped away with his absence and lies.   
  
"Ran. I'm very sorry for all you have gone through. There was many times, that I had wanted to tell you the truth, but just when the words were about to leave my mouth, they just got stuck. There was only one reason, Ran, the most important reason why I chose to keep it from you. You don't know how big and powerful this Organisation is. They have contacts all over the world, people from all walks of life. I was afraid. If they came after you, I could not protect you properly, not in this form! And you yourself can never stand alone against them. I couldn't let that happen! I couldn't take the risk! You were too important to me!"  
  
"But what if something happened to you? What if the injury you got yesterday was fatal? Would you let me carry on with my life, forever wondering what happened to you and never knowing what had became of you and the truth? Was it preferable to letting into the dark? How did you think I would feel then? Or did you leave behind a letter, to be open only at the advent of your death by me, saying that you love me and was sorry you were dead?" Ran said hotly. Why couldn't he get it into his thick skull what was it she wanted? Shinichi flushed guiltily. Ran opened her eyes wide. "You didn't!! Of all the inconsiderate things to do! I...I..." Ran threw her hands up in exasperation and begin to stalk around the narrow room, muttering all the while.   
  
Turning around, she pinned him with a look that clearly told him she would appreciate no interruptions and lurched into a full-blown tirade. "You said you love me, but you still persist in treating me as someone, SOMETHING to be set aside, tucked away in a corner where it can be safe. Well let me tell you, buster, love doesn't work that way! A relationship works only when both sides are equal partners, both protecting and supporting each other, through both joy and sorrow. And the most important thing is trust. How do you expect me to believe you, to forgive you if you didn't trust me with even such a big thing? Or did you not think I was capable of handling the truth, and making intelligent decisions about it? Do I look like a child to you? I may not be as good as solving cases like you, but I AM seventeen. The same age as you if you remember. Surely I deserve the respect and the treatment of one?" Ran ran out of breath.  
  
Flabbergasted, Shinichi could only stare at her, open-mouthed. Now he remembered why Ran was the only person in his entire life who was always able to surprise him. Just when he thought he finally figured out what she wanted, she went around and turned the tables on him. He told his mother about it once, and she only laughed and said it was a good thing there was still someone in the world like that and winked at him. She always treated Ran like a prospective daughter-in-law after that, much to his bemusement and confusion. In a very small voice, he said, "Would it help if I said I was sorry?"  
  
He looked so woebegone that Ran almost relented. Almost. This wasn't a time to soften. Not until he promised her what she wanted anyway. "On two conditions." Shinichi looked up hopefully. Even with his present body, Ran could still see the young man he had once been, and will be, she promised herself, once she got hold of Haibara. "One, you must promise to tell me EVERYTHING after this. And I mean everything; no matter how you may think it will hurt me or harm me. I want you to treat me as an equal, as a PERSON whom you can confide in and count on to guard your back, and not a flower vase you can tuck away to keep safe. Is that UNDERSTOOD?" He wondered why Ran suddenly seemed so much like her mother all of the sudden. He still couldn't really come to terms with the idea of letting Ran know everything. Well, maybe not EVERYTHING. But...  
  
"Yes."   
  
"And second." Ran's eyes softened. "Promise not to leave me alone again." Gripping Ran's hands tightly, Shinichi nodded. And I also promise that I will do everything in my power to make you happy, he pledged silently, both to himself and her.   
  
Ran finally looked satisfied. Slumping back into the chair, she turned to regard him with wide blue eyes that suddenly turned contemplative much to his unease. "What is it?"  
  
Ran smiled slightly at his unease. "Nothing. Just thinking about what will become of us now."   
  
"As to that, perhaps I could be of service?" Yusaku smiled as he walked into the room, followed by Yukiko. Shinichi growled. "How long have you been listening outside the door?"   
  
Yusaku tsked. "I never do anything so uncouth. I simply put a listening device under the table near your bed." Ran flushed bright red. Does this mean that Shinichi's parents heard all what she said? Yukiko patted her on her back and there was a knowing twinkle in her eye. Ran smiled back hesitantly.   
  
Shinichi was still very put out with his parents. And he was coming down with a most frightful headache. He wondered if it was a side effect of his injury but rather doubt it. There were enough things for him to get a headache over ever since he woke up. "What did you mean by that?" he said testily.   
  
"What I mean is this little device I stuck to the bottom of that little table just before I walked out with the good doctor, your skills at observations still needs to be further honed, if didn't even see that, Shinichi." Yusaku smiled broadly.   
  
"No, I mean that first sentence you said when you walked in."   
  
"Oh that. Well, your mother and I came back here with a gift for you. Besides coming to see you about your injury, of course. It was recently just completed and is still in the testing stage, but I guess you wouldn't really mind that do you? Of course, there MIGHT be some side effects, but I am quite confident of its results."  
  
"Quite stalling already and tell me!" Shinichi was very annoyed with his father at the moment and the beginnings of a headache wasn't helping him any.  
  
"Oh, just that I have with me the currently untested antidote to APTX4869." Yusaku polished his nails against his suit while Yukiko smiled happily behind him.  
  
Before Shinichi and Ran had the chance to absorb the implications of this statement, the door to the room banged open.  
  
"Kudo! I heard you were injured...." Hattori Heiji skied to a stop as he noticed the people in the room, only to be propelled forward as Kazuha didn't notice and ramped into him.   
  
"Oi! What did you do that for, Kazuha!!" Heiji shouted.   
  
"Well it's YOUR fault for stopping so suddenly!" Kazuha retorted back.  
  
Yes, Shinichi thought as he massaged his temples. I DO have a headache.  
  
  
To be continued.....  
  
  
Well, what do you think? Please comment!! 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: Okay, sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out. *sweatdrop* Hope those reading it will like it. Please, some C & C on this chapter...I am desperate...really.   
Tell me where I'm doing wrong and where I am doing right. Please?   
One more thing. This story is set after the manga volume 34 and will have some spoilers for those who haven't read until there.  
  
Disclaimers: Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
There was a tense silence in the hospital room as the four males and one female waited breathlessly for an answer. Ai sat cross-legged on the small chair near the window, turning the yellow capsule over and over in her hand while frowning intensely at the sleeve of notes Yusaku had gave her after he had dropped his bombshell to the Professor and her. Apparently, Ai had passed on a sample of the drug and the imperfect antidote she had made as well as her notes to Yusaku at his request through the Professor. Yusaku had contacted a scientist friend of his who, after much experimentation, had produced the antidote. Shinichi wasn't very happy to know that it was kept from him, but he understood their intentions. To have your hopes raised then dashed wasn't a pleasant feeling.  
  
Ran had left with Kazuha earlier for the hotel they were staying at to unpack. She wasn't exactly pleased with the whole idea, but since Heiji had sat rooted to his chair in a manner that suggested that it would require an army to remove him and more to even change his mind, Shinichi had turned to Ran for help. And though Ran resented the fact that she would be excluded of this very important discussion, she had understood the reasons behind it. All of them didn't want more people knowing the secret and thus exposing them to the danger. Heiji especially, had been vocal in his insistence that Kazuha be left out of it entirely during the interval where Yukiko had somehow managed to distract Kazuha into leaving the room for a while. And so Ran had sort of 'volunteered' to do the job, so to speak. But the look she shot Shinichi as she left didn't bore well for him in the near future.   
  
"Well?" Finally unable to stand the suspense, Shinichi had asked the question foremost on their minds.   
  
Ai finally put down the sleeve of notes she had been holding. "It appears to be quite alright from what I can see from this notes. Of course, I cannot really say for certain without more experiments. But on the whole," she smiled, a real true smile. "On the whole, I think this is it."  
  
Heiji whopped and began to dance round the room, laughing all the while. Yusaku and Yukiko were both smiling, as was the Professor. Shinichi looked a bit dazed. He still hadn't quite gotten over the shock of Ran finding out the secret and now there was a chance, a chance for him to get back to his own body. He could hardly believe it.   
  
"Well, I should be going now. Professor, could you get me discharged? The sooner I can get to work, the sooner we can get back to normal. Kudo-kun, when are you returning home?"  
  
Shinichi looked at his father. "Tomorrow morning?" Yusaku nodded. "Oh and Professor, can you help me make something by tomorrow?"   
  
"What is it?" Shinichi told him.  
  
Eyebrows were raised around the room upon hearing his unusual request. Professor Agasa thought for a moment. "I can have it ready for you by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."  
  
"Thanks Professor." Shinichi grinned at him in gratitude.   
  
As Ai and the Professor and Ai left the room, Heiji raised his head. "Wait, can you make one for me too?" The Professor looked surprised for a moment, then nodded and left.  
  
"Shinichi, you take care of yourself now. Your father and I are going home to get things ready for your return." Yukiko kissed her annoyed son's forehead as he squirmed uncomfortably. Heiji grinned as Yusaku muffled his son hair before leaving the room.  
  
"Otou-san." Shinichi called out. Yusaku turned back inquiringly. "Thanks." Yusaku just smiled and left, leaving the two boys behind.  
  
"So." Heiji raised an eyebrow and eyed his friend in amusement. Shinichi lifted HIS eyebrow in respond. "So what?"  
  
Heiji's grin became wicked. "Judging by the way you looked at each other before you left, I gathered that everything's out in the open now between Neechan and you?" Shinichi shifted uncomfortably. Heiji's expression became even more wicked, if that was possible. "So, what did she say? Did she hurt you very badly? Did you tell her how you felt?"  
  
Shinichi scowled at Heiji. "Hattori, you are even behaving worse than a woman! What happened between us is really none of you business!"   
  
"Aw, come on Kudo. Spill the beans!" Heiji wheedled.  
  
"No! Now I have to send a message to Ran so keep your mouth shut!" With that, Shinichi resolutely turned his back to Heiji and took out his cell phone and started dialing.   
  
************************************************  
  
Ran gripped her cell phone tightly and shut her eyes. She had just received Shinichi's message telling her about the outcome regarding the antidote. She wasn't sure she was supposed to feel happy or worried. On one hand, she would be very glad to get her seventeen-year-old Shinichi back, but on the other, the risks of taking the antidote worried her. Risks that Shinichi seemed to have conveniently forgot.   
  
"Ran-chan, are you alright? You look a bit pale," Kazuha asked anxiously as she glanced at her friend. Ran sure was acting weird today, frequently drifting off into a daze. And now, after reading the cell phone message, she looked positively worried. "If you have something on, you can go first. I'm sure that Heiji baka will turn up sooner or later. You needn't keep me company."  
  
Ran shook her head. "No, Kazuha-chan. it's alright. There are just some things worrying me. Don't worry. I know of a place that sells really nice ramen, why don't I take you there for some lunch? You must be hungry after the long plane journey."  
  
Kazuha still looked dubious but agreed.  
  
************************************************  
  
  
"I'm home!" Ran called out as she took off her shoes. "Otou-san? Are you home?"  
  
"Ran! I'm in the office." Kogoro replied. Ran walked in and saw her mother there too.   
  
"Oka-san? Why are you here?" Ran was surprised to see her mother here, in the office, and chatting very pleasantly with her father too! Does this mean....?  
  
"Why Ran, is there any reason why I should not be here?" Eri asked mildly.  
  
"No, of course not, just that...." Ran trailed off, unsure how to continue.  
  
"I assume that since you are back, HE is awake," Kogoro said abruptly, stubbing his cigarette in the ashtray in front of him.  
  
"Er...yes," Ran said slowly, unsure where this was heading.  
  
"Good." Kogoro stood up and straightened his jacket.  
  
"Otou-san, where are you going?" Ran asked, afraid of that slightly maniacal look in her father's eyes. Her mother was still sitting calmly on the chair in front of her father's desk.   
  
Kogoro cleared his throat and tried to look calm. "Why, to the hospital of course! I think its time HE and I have a little chat, don't you think?" Without a further word, Kogoro walked out.   
  
Ran stared at her mother, aghast. "Oka-san! Why didn't you stop him!"  
  
"Why should I?" Eri answered calmly. Then, her face softened at the distress in Ran's face. "Don't worry Ran. He won't hurt him. Much."  
  
"Now, why don't I prepare some dinner for you? And your father too when he returns." Too dazed to hear her mother properly, Ran just nodded and walked to her room.   
  
Once inside, she quickly took out her cell phone and dialed Shinichi's number.   
  
"Shinichi, did I happen to mention that my father also knows about your secret?"   
  
***************************************************************  
  
Shinichi gulped once. Then twice. He wasn't sure he was really up to facing Mouri Kogoro in his present state. The person in front of him showed no resemblance to the egoistic and slightly foolish man he had once thought he knew. The Mouri Kogoro standing in front of him now seemed another man entirely. Now I understand how a mouse feels just before a cat catches it, he thought desperately. Heiji had taken one look at the expression on Kogoro's face when he came in and vanished to goodness knows where. Even facing Ran was better than this.   
  
"SO." Folding his arms, Kogoro knew he cut a very imposing figure. Back when he was still a policeman, he had frequently used this tactic to scare the criminals into confessing. And it usually worked. There was no reason it should fail now, judging from the slightly panicked look on THAT BOY's face. Inside, he was enjoying himself thoroughly. It was time someone took a peg or two down from THAT BOY. And who better to do it then him. Eri and he had worked out together just exactly how he should approach him. THAT BOY was a clever one and need special planning before he faced him. After the trashing down Eri gave him for not telling her what he knew of course. Kogoro winced internally at that. He had half forgotten how sharp Eri's tongue was.   
  
Shinichi tried valiantly to gather his scattered wits, but they all seemed to have gone on an extended holiday without notifying him. "Em...er..."  
  
"Perhaps, you would like to explain a few things to me. Things like BOW-TIE VOICE-CHANGERS and SLEEPING DARTS for instance?" Kogoro growled softly. He was enjoying that almost trapped look on HIS face. And the way HE was squirming under his glance, it was almost worth it for him to endure the 'sleeping' treatment every time a case came up for the past year. Almost, but not quite. Time to get the conversation back on track.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know, why I had kept your secret for you?" he asked the apprehensive Shinichi almost conversationally. Thrown off-stride by the abrupt change in manner, Shinichi could only nod cautiously.  
  
"You could say it was because of your parents' request. Or maybe it was because I felt it was the right thing to do. But I think the most important reason was that I could get to take a peg or two down from you," Kogoro grinned at the flabbergasted Shinichi, looking surprising youthful for a man of his age.   
  
Shinichi found that he was grinding his teeth. Tried to stop. But couldn't. It didn't help that from the knowing glint in Kogoro's eye, he knew it too. Darn! The number of times, over the past year, when he had to grind his teeth and bear with it when Kogoro treated him like a kid, when he was forced to behave like one to advert suspicion, he had known all about it!  
  
He supposed he deserved it, for both putting Kogoro through it-though it had been necessary at that time-and for underestimating him. After Ran had told him her father had found out about him a long time ago, Shinichi discovered that he had to revise his long-standing opinion of Kogoro. Drastically. And seeing him now, today, all his previous conceptions evaporated, leaving him with the realization that Ran had a pair of very formidable parents. He had best not underestimate her either.   
  
"I suppose I do deserve it. I apologize for putting you through all that, but did you really have to hit me and bash me on the head at every turn?"   
  
"It taught you humility," Kogoro produced a cigarette out of nowhere and began to puff.  
  
Shinichi sighed. It seemed to be his day for getting little 'chats' from people. And they were NOT going the way he had expected. None of them. He wondered if they had all discussed this beforehand about who get to grind into him first. Or had they decided by throwing a dice or something?   
  
"So, where does this put us now?" Shinichi rubbed his forehead.  
  
"Hmm....well, I was going to send you to boot camp on the other side of the globe, but then thought it would be too easy on you. And now is not the time, is it?" Kogoro grew serious.  
  
Shinichi shook his head. "No, I have reason to suspect that things are going to come to a head soon, if not sooner."  
  
"Any clues or information about this Organization?"  
  
"No, not really. But I have some ideas..." He trailed off thoughtfully.   
  
"Well then, I think its time we have a truce. At least until this whole mess is over. What do you say?"  
  
Shinichi thought for a moment. "Truce." They shook their hands on it.   
  
"I will give you all the help you need for the time being. And you do all you can to fix this mess. I don't want anything to happen to my daughter, so you better buck up. Is that understood?" Kogoro said in a deadly voice.  
  
"You needn't worry. I will never let anything happen to Ran if I can help it." Shinichi looked Kogoro squarely in the eye. Kogoro stared at him for a moment, then nodded.  
  
"Don't think that this gets you off the hook. Far from it. But all this can wait. And if I continue on, Ran would never talk to me again," Kogoro glance at the door where Ran stood, looking ready to jump to Shinichi's defense at any moment. "There's just one more thing: Don't EVER let my daughter cry again. Or else."   
  
"Otou-san, did you really have to do all this?" Ran asked, exasperated. It had taken her much longer than she expected to get away from her mother and her attempts at making dinner. At least she prevented her from burning down the kitchen.  
  
"Yes. Just wanted to make sure things are UNDERSTOOD between us. Right, KUDO?" Kogoro asked with steel in his voice. Satisfied by a mute nod, he turned to Ran. "I'm going home now. You don't come home too late, you hear me?"  
  
"Yes, Otou-san." The sudden light of mischief in Ran's eyes made Kogoro wary. "Oka-san just made dinner and ask me to make sure you went home to eat it." Kogoro turned pale and muttered something about a mahjong session he had. "Otou-san," Ran said in a warning tone.  
  
"Alright, alright, I'm going home." Muttering all the while, Kogoro stalked out of the room, but not before giving Shinichi a measuring look, which he returned. Satisfied, Kogoro left.  
  
"Thanks for rescuing me there." Shinichi took Ran's hand in his own small one.   
  
"You're welcome. Now there are some things that happened last year that I'm still not quite clear about. Would you care to explain?" Ran asked archly.  
  
Shinichi sighed. It was going to be a long night.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Yusaku opened the door to his home, carrying the small bag that contained Shinichi's clothes during his stay at the hospital. Strange, he hadn't thought of this as his home for many years now, not since he migrated with Yukiko overseas. Why does this feel like home now? Was it because there was more people here now, giving it a feeling of 'family' or at least, 'friends', instead of just an empty house?   
  
Shinichi followed him in, accompanied by Yukiko and Ran. Ai, the Professor and Ran's parents were already in the living room, having arrived much earlier. It was the first day Shinichi was out of the hospital and they had decided that a council of war, so to speak, was needed urgently. Yukiko had protested, saying that Shinichi wasn't up to it, but was over-ruled, much to her annoyance.  
  
"Well, since everyone is here at last, we can start the meeting. I still have a lot of things to do at the Agency." Kogoro said. Eri looked at him. "What?" Kogoro asked in confusion. Eri sighed. She still has a long way to go with him it seems.  
  
"I propose we bring the police in onto this. If the Organization is really as big-scale as you say, we will need them. We can't bring them down by ourselves." Eri said reasonably.  
  
"No. The Organization has very widespread operations. We don't know where or when their members will turn up. We can't take the risk! What if someone in the police is in the Organization?" Ai objected.  
  
Kogoro looked shocked at the very suggestion. "How can you say that? They are the police! They won't do this, won't they?" He looked at his wife for reassurance.   
  
"That's hard to say. Eri-san is right. We will need more help if we want to bring down the Organization. We can't do this alone, and we can't afford to let this thing drag on. I think they are getting suspicious. Even if they didn't know about Shinichi and Haibara-san, they should have some inking now after the incident two days ago." Yusaku said thoughtfully. "Would you care to hear a suggestion?" Everyone looked at him expectantly.  
  
"I met someone a few months ago. Someone from the FBI. A mutual acquaintance introduced us. I think he might be able to help us. I had checked him up thoroughly before deciding to bring him into this. I think we can trust him to help us. That and he has a personal stake in this whole business as well. Besides, I found out from him that the FBI was also investigating the Organization."   
  
"Otou-san, have you ALREADY told him about me?" Shinichi asked. Yusaku nodded guiltily. "Otou-san! How could you do this? I can't believe you kept so much from me! What else are you holding back?" Shinichi was angry.  
  
Yusaku waved away his son's objections. "This friend of mine arrived in Japan a few weeks ago. And he has already begun his investigations into the Organization. The antidote was able to be finished this quickly was also because of his influence. Shinichi, I think he can be trusted. If we need police help, why not his?"  
  
Shinichi sighed. "Since you have already told him everything, what else can I say? Who is he?"  
  
"He was actually situated in New York until recently, that's where I met him by the way. And his name, is Akai Shuichi."  
  
********************************************************* 


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes: Well. This took me a long time. *sweatdrop* I apologize. Anyway, I hope no one kills me after this. *grins* Oh, and by the way, this chapter contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the fifth movie. I'm sorry really, but I just couldn't resist adding it in after watching it. *sweatdrop* Shinichi is SO KAKKOII in there!! XD  
  
Anyway. On with the story. Please. More C&C please?? I'm begging you guys.....  
  
  
Disclaimers: Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
Revelations Chapter 5  
by Valerie Chow  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Shinichi shot to his feet at his father's words. "You KNOW Akai Shuichi?" he asked incredulously.  
  
Yusaku was mildly taken aback by his son's response. "Yes, why? We are not very good friends but we ARE friends, if you know what I mean." Yusaku smiled sheepishly. "He gives me very good tips on cases the FBI are solving."  
  
Shinichi stared at his father, aghast. His FATHER was friends with the man he thought connected to the Black Organization? Who, from what his father said, just happens to be the FBI agent in charge of investigating the same said Organization? It was too pat, too much of a coincidence. He didn't, couldn't, believe it. Was this a trap? His eyes meet those of Haibara. They were enigmatic as usual, but he could see the same doubts he had in it.   
  
Yusaku was still looking at his son in curiosity. His father, even with all his intelligence, never really knew what he had found out and suspected. It had never occurred to Shinichi that his parents, far away in America would be targeted and used against him. Or were they? And there was still that business of someone stealing the case files containing cases solved by Oji-san, or rather himself, then putting them back. If Akai Shuichi, who was his prime suspect for the theft, was really from the FBI, and know all about him, then he will have no reason to take those files. He would just have to request for them and he would have gotten it. Assuming of course again, that he WAS who he said he was. Which meant his position was even more precarious than it already was. Then there was also the man who was loitering around the agency. And Jodie Saintemillion. And James Black.   
  
Shinichi rubbed his forehead. He seemed to be doing this a lot lately. This was getting confusing. His father was still looking at him curiously, and with a hint of unease. Good. He deserved it for putting him through all this. However, much as he would like to pay his father back for all the shocks he had sprung on him ever since he came back, things were too unsettled for him to spare the time. He grimaced.   
  
"Otou-san. When did you know Akai-san?" Shinichi asked his father.  
  
"Hmm. Around two to three months ago. Why?"  
  
That would put it about a few weeks before the bus-hijack case when he had first seen him. It was probably not a coincidence. He never believed in them anyway. Just where does this put them now?  
  
Ran was watching Shinichi steadily. "You're keeping something back." Shinichi flushed and didn't answer. Ran's eyes narrowed. "What. Are. You. Keeping. Back." She spaced each word out with great care and her hard eyes reminded him of the promise he made. Ran was getting more aggressive then he ever remembered her being. He turned and found five pairs of eyes regarding him steadily. Only Haibara's face was carefully neutral.   
  
He gave up. There was really no way of keeping things back when they all ganged up on him like this. If it was only one or two of them, maybe, but SIX of them? Where was Hattori when you needed him? Oh yeah, out keeping Kazuha distracted.   
  
So he told them. About everything, all that he suspected, and what he and Hattori discovered. There was a tense silence after he finished.  
  
Ran was the first to break it. "Jodie-sensei? I...I just can't BELIEVE it!" She still couldn't. The nice, friendly English teacher who was always so nice to Sonoko and her, was a suspected member of the Black Organization?   
  
"I won't discount your suspicions. But, Shinichi, I had Akai-san investigated thoroughly before deciding to take him into my confidence. You know I won't do things rashly. Why don't you meet him first and see what he has to say before deciding anything?" Yusaku asked, eyebrows frowned in concentration.  
  
"No. If he WAS a member of the Organization, and his intended target was you, Kudo-san, they would have made sure all the loose ends were tied up. There would be no loopholes, no suspicious facts that would betray his identity. His background would not be exactly flawless, that in itself would be suspicious, but it would be good enough to convince you and your investigators that he was the genuine thing." Haibara, who had kept silent during the entire byplay between father and son until now, spoke up. "That is, if your investigators would not be also part of the scam."  
  
"You make the Organization sound as if it was so powerful that it has its hands in everything." Kogoro tried to laugh it off. He looked around him. All were wearing thoughtful expressions. "They aren't, are they?" He whispered. Haibara just looked at him. Kogoro slumped into his chair. "Then how in the blazes are we going to pull down this Organization when we don't even know who to trust and which is so powerful?"   
  
"I told you. I told you not to underestimate them, Kudo-kun. Going against them is impossible. They have not been around for nearly a century just to be pulled down by a few smart detectives that just happen to stumble across their path. There is a reason that they have managed to stay hidden until now, you know." Haibara continued on relentlessly.  
  
"It's not the time to say 'I told you so, Haibara, " Shinichi retorted irritably. Things seemed to be getting rapidly out of hand. "Wait just a minute Haibara. Otou-san, what was the personal reason that Akai-san told you he had in this whole business?"   
  
Yusaku shifted uncomfortably. "Its not really my place to say, Shinichi."  
  
"Then why don't you let me enlighten them, Kudo-san?" A new voice asked.   
  
Everyone turned. His entrance was dramatic enough that it could have put a carefully orchestrated one to shame. The man known to some present as Akai Shuichi stood at the doorway. His stance was such that wasn't deliberately flippant. It combined just the right amount of alert awareness that signified a predator and a confident air that was calculated to make people trust him. A stray stream of morning sunlight shone through the open door behind him, illuminating him as well as casting his face into the shadows. Shinichi wondered idly if the Black Organization had even the weather working for them. He still thought of him as part of the Organization, despite what his father said.   
  
Akai Shuichi was, as usual, dressed in black with a woolen cap over his dark hair. His expression was one of sardonic amusement, but his eyes, as they surveyed the surrounding group was hard and assessing. They flickered over each and every one of them, missing nothing and giving away nothing. When they passed over the slight form of Haibara, there was a sudden flicker of something in his eyes, but it passed too quickly for Shinichi to catch it.   
  
Yusaku and Yukiko nodded to him in greeting while Haibara shrunk slightly back against the sofa, gripping the seat of the sofa so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Shinichi glanced at her sharply before turning his eyes back to the man in the doorway. Akai Shuichi returned his glance evenly. Eri fought down a hysterical giggle that threatened to bubble up within her and thought, irrationally, that if this Akai Shuichi found it odd to be engaged in a staring contest with a seven year old that barely came up to his waist. Even if he WAS in truth seventeen.   
  
Apparently not. Eri rolled her eyes.  
  
Men!  
  
The staring contest between the two of them continued until Ran bopped him on his head, breaking the eye contact. Rubbing his head, he turned up to glare at Ran. His neck was getting a bit tired with all this looking up at adults. He couldn't WAIT to get back to normal again.   
  
"Mou! We don't have time for this!" Ran's eyes flashed and Shinichi subsided. She was right, much as he loathed to admit it. Ran turned to Akai Shuichi. "I know you, don't I? I've seen you once in New York, and then again, in the tea house where Saito-san was having her match-making session*!"  
  
One elegant eyebrow quirked upwards and Ran blushed at her boldness. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean anything," she stammered.  
  
Akai Shuichi just looked at her for a moment before turning back to Yusaku. "Kudo-san, thank you for keeping my secrets for as long as you did. But I guess its time for me to explain before everything we have prepared backfires."   
  
Shinichi was still watching Akai suspiciously and from the corner of his eye, he could see Haibara cower even more behind Professor Hagasa. She wasn't exactly shivering, but she could tell that she was badly frightened by Akai's appearance. Not as much as the few times they had came up against the Black Organisation, but enough to make him even more suspicious of the one known as Akai Shuichi. He would bear watching.  
  
"The FBI have been investigating the so-called Black Organisation for as long as the past ten years as soon as we got wind of them. Numerous people has been put in charge of infiltrating it and have so far failed. This is a very dangerous and powerful Organisation that has a very clever and cunning mastermind behind it. And their claws extend to each and every corner of the society in every part of the world. To really pull them down is very hard without concert evidence and information. They are like a hydra. Cut off one head and two more appear to take its place. To really permanently destroy them, we need to get to the real brain behind the whole show, but this brain, or brains are very careful to keep themselves hidden. We don't even know how many of them are there, and I doubt many in the Organisation does either."  
  
"A year ago, I was put in charge of the operation to get into the Organisation itself after the previous group in charge was all systematically eliminated after they were found out by the Organisation. Even their families were not spared. The biggest stumbling block in the investigation was that we didn't know exactly who to trust. People right beside you whom you thought were your friends could easily turn out to be your enemies instead. That was why, when I began to choose men to help me in the investigation, I kept them separate and unknown to each other. And they were all people I could trust. Or so I thought." At this point in his story, Shinichi noticed that Akai Shuichi's face darkened slightly before it resumed its normal sardonic expression.  
  
"But despite my best precautions, one by one, my subordinates failed and were...eliminated. Totally. And all the information they had risked their lives to get were lost. The Organisation is, if anything, through."  
  
"Half a year ago, I sent in my best subordinate to infiltrate the Organisation. Against all expectations, he was successful. The first thing he found out was the drug APTX 4869 which they were still using. He gave me a list of the victims who had fallen prey to the drug. And there was something, something that strike me as off about the list. One victim, Kudo Shinichi, was listed as unknown instead of deceased. My subordinate told me this list was a few months old when I questioned him about it. He will try to get me the new list. A month later, he came to me again and said that there was something weird about the whole APTX business as the status of the name I was curious about was changed to deceased and not long after that, the inventor of the APTX 4869 had disappeared." Akai Shuichi's glance at Haibara while he said this was intense before his eyes swung back to face the others.   
  
"I thought this was highly suspicious, so I tried to find out more about the person known as Kudo Shinichi, and to a lesser extend, the one known as Miyano Shiho. What I found out surprised me. Kudo Shinichi had a reputation as a high school detective in his country of Japan and disappeared mysteriously a few months back. Of Miyano Shiho, I could find nothing other than she had a sister who had died. So I approached the next best alternative, that of Kudo Shinichi's father, Kudo Yusaku."  
  
"After gaining his trust, and not easily I can tell you, we settled down to plan. He told me about the APTX 4869 and the unforeseen side effects his son was subjected to and his hope of discovering a cure. I was intrigued by what a seventeen-year-old boy in a seven year old's body could do to get information about the Organisation. It seemed as if he managed to get more facts about them than we the FBI ever did even in ten years of work. I offered to help him discover a cure and introduced him to a scientist friend of mine that I was sure was trustworthy. Both of us continued our separate investigations with our own methods and met up a few times to compare notes. That was when our plans nearly fell apart."  
  
Akai Shuichi clenched his fist slightly. "My subordinate was found out and killed. However, before he was eliminated, he had taken the precaution of sending what he had found immediately to me through the channels we had previously agreed on and I was able to savage what I could from his patchy information. I now have an incomplete list of some of the members of the Organisation and signs indicate that the Organization's headquarters had recently been moved to Japan. And so I came here to personally investigate the whole business."  
  
"This subordinate of yours, he was a close friend of yours, wasn't he?" Ran asked softly. Akai didn't answer. And that in itself was answer enough. Yusaku was looking a bit confused but said nothing.   
  
Shinichi looked at Akai steadily. An uneasy suspicion was forming in his mind. "Was your subordinate stationed in Japan before he was...eliminated?"   
  
"What do you ask?" Akai Shuichi controlled his features admirably, but Shinichi could see that his jaw was clenched hard. There seemed to be something deeper in his story than just a simple colleague and friend being killed. Something he resolved to find out later. If it was any indication, it seemed as if his father knew about it and was surprised that Akai didn't mention it.   
  
"I have my reasons." Shinichi tried to keep his expression neutral but inside, he was a confused bundle of nerves and anxiety. He really couldn't bring himself to believe the coincidences that were pilling up. It all seemed to add up nicely, but he had learned, the hard way that in real life, coincidences don't really happen. Not really.   
  
"Yes."  
  
"The name." Even Akai's hard closed look and Ran's tugging at his sleeve didn't stop his questioning. He HAD to know. Had to allay his doubts once and for all. "What was his name?"  
  
"Hara Yoshiaki."   
  
It was true. His suspicions were true. The programmer** who died by Gin's hand in the twin towers murders; the one the Black Organisation had spent so much effort in eliminating any information he had gathered to the extend of bombing the towers with hundreds if not thousands of people inside. He was from the FBI. Shinichi didn't know what to think. The threads were all weaving into place. Neatly. But he didn't know if he could really believe it. If it was all true, it would mean that they would at last, really have a chance to bring down the Organisation. But if is was a trap to lure them out, they will all be dead.   
  
Kogoro interrupted. "Isn't he the programmer that was killed by Kisaragi Hosui*** in the twin towers case? Why do you say he was killed by the Organisation? Are you saying that Kisaragi-san was part of the Organisation?" He was looking confused and Shinichi didn't blame him. After all, he didn't share his conclusions about the murder with anyone else but Haibara.   
  
"He wasn't killed by Kisaragi-san. By the time Kisaragi-san arrived, Hara-san was already killed, so he just placed the saucer and smashed it to make it seemed as if he was killed by him. The lack of bloodstains on the broken pieces showed that the saucer was smashed after the blood dried." Shinichi turned to Akai. "The silver knife. It was a message for you, wasn't it?" It was not a question. Akai nodded. "I wondered about that. Why would he try leave that message? The police would understand nothing about it and it couldn't have been for me. He didn't know me." Shinichi's eyes narrowed. "Did he?"   
  
"No. Yoshiaki didn't know about you. Not about Edogawa Conan. He only knew that Kudo Shinichi was someone to be wary of because I expressed an interest in him."   
  
"What you just said could be true. But it could equally but something you made up to lure us into a trap. What makes you think we can trust you just on that alone?" Shinichi demanded.  
  
"Nothing. I can offer nothing to back up my words. No evidence, no facts nor witnesses to prove that what I had just said is true. On the other hand, if I was really from the Black Organisation, all of you would have been dead by now. You of all people should know very well how they work. Dead people tell no tales." Akai Shuichi said evenly.   
  
"You're talking about blind trust."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Shinichi looked around at the others. All were waiting for him to make the decision. They would follow his lead in this, he knew, because he was the one more intimately concerned with the entire case. He was the one to have the most to lose if everything came into the open. If he made the wrong decision now, it could cause everyone here their lives, to say the least. Why couldn't this be a straightforward case he could just solve and be rid of it? Not for the hundredth time, he cursed the day he decided to follow Gin at Tropical Land.   
  
Everything has a price.   
  
"Alright, suppose we trust you on this, what would you suggest we do?" Shinichi said finally. Haibara made a wordless sound of protest, only to be cut off by Shinichi's raised hand.  
  
"Then we will have to pool our information together. No holds barred. We find out exactly where we stand with regard to the Organisation. And if need be, we bring in the local police. I still have another undercover informant in the Organisation. He will keep be abreast of things."  
  
"And then?"  
  
"And then," Akai Shuichi paused and regarded Shinichi seriously. "We bring them down. Permanently."  
  
Shinichi nodded thoughtfully. "It seems that I have no other choice. Since you already know about me, about us, even if I don't trust you, and you ARE, in fact from the Organisation, we'll be dead anyway. If you are, however, who you say you are, we might still stand a chance. So," he stuck his hand out towards Akai Shuichi.   
  
"We co-operate." Akai Shuichi smiled slightly, and griped Shinichi's hand tightly. There was a slight rustled and Shinichi turned to see Haibara walk out of the room. By the stiffness of her shoulders, he could tell that she was not entirely happy with the present state of affairs. But he had no choice, couldn't she see that?   
  
"Let her cool down alone for a while, Shinichi-kun," the Professor advised. "She'll come around."   
  
Shinichi sighed. There was no help for it. He hadn't the time to pacify one paranoid ex-Organisation scientist. It was time to plan.   
  
The rest of the group soon got down to some serious plotting, so Ran was the only one to really notice that there was something weird with the seat where Haibara had sat on. Upon closer inspection, she realized that Haibara's nails had penetrated the cloth of the coverings when she gripped the seat cushion tightly during the talk.   
  
Pierced it so hard that some of the stuffing came out.  
  
***************************************************************   
  
The rest of the people where still discussing the various plans they were going to implement as soon as they had the chance when Shinichi looked up and saw the Professor beckon him over to a corner of the living room.   
  
"What's the matter, Professor?" Shinichi asked half-annoyed. Things were just progressing along nicely, why did he have to interrupt him now?  
  
"Ai-kun wanted me to pass you this. She said that she had tested it to the best of her ability and that she thought it should be safe. As far as this sort of thing could be called safe." It was the capsule that was the antidote to APTX-4869.   
  
Shinichi took it almost reverently. In that small pill laid all his hopes and dreams as well as his salvation. No matter what happened, he would stand by his decision to take it.   
  
"And here, is the thing you asked me to make for you. Hattori took his this morning before he went out with Kazuha-chan. I assume that this is for Ran-chan?" There was an amused twinkle in the Professor's eyes but his face was straight as he passed over the small black box to Shinichi.   
  
"Thanks, Professor," Shinichi took the box and pocketed it, all along aware that his face was flushed red with embarrassment. Why did everyone viewed his relationship with Ran as some kind of entertainment and seemed to be poking fun of them at his expense?   
  
"Do you wish to try it now?" The Professor asked. There was no question which object he meant.   
  
"Yes."  
  
Softer, more gentle this time. "Would you like some help?"   
  
A glance at the mass of black heads poring over various notes and documents at the middle of the living room.  
  
"Yes."   
  
A pause.  
  
"Thank you."   
  
A smile and a pat on the back, then they were gone. Only Yukiko saw them leave. And she just smiled and turned her attention back to the intense discussion the others were having.  
  
***********************************************************  
  
Twilight. A time for retrospection, or so they say. Personally, Ran never thought of twilight as a time to ponder over what she had done right or wrong for the day. For her, it was more of a time to indulge in daydreams, or simply to just let her thoughts wander as they will. Although, more often than not for the past few months, she would spend this time thinking about him. Even now, when she knew where he was, she still found her thoughts wandering back to him. Strange.   
  
Resting her elbows on the window still of the library where she had first seen the young boy she had known as Edogawa Conan, she permitted herself a small smile as she thought of how Sonoko would say about this if she knew. Or even Kazuha-chan. She could almost imagine their reaction. Sonoko would swoon dramatically and proclaim that she had IT bad. It's SOOOOO ROMANTIC! Kazuha-chan would wink at her and laugh, but in her eyes, she would see understanding and a sense of kinship, of shared feelings for a certain pair of high school detectives.   
  
She tensed, then relaxed as she felt the person approached her from behind. It was a sense of recognition, a feeling that she had honed to perfection without her own knowledge over the years. No matter how he had changed, she could always FEEL him approaching her. Even if he was still in his small form. Which was what had ticked her off about him in the first time. Nobody else FELT like him. It drove her nuts when he was still in his other form and she didn't know anything. Why had Conan-kun felt like Shinichi? But now, she knew.  
  
A pair of hands hugged her from behind suddenly. She gasped. Not in surprise because of the sudden movement, but because of the height from which the hands had hugged her.   
  
She half-turned, only to be stopped by the sound of his well-known voice. A voice she had only heard over the phone for a long long time.   
  
"Don't. Just let me stay like this. For a while." Shinichi, the real Shinichi, HER Shinichi spoke, his voice muffled by her hair, and emotions she couldn't identify.   
  
So they stayed like this. Ran didn't mind. It gave her an opportunity to enjoy having her Shinichi back again. And also to enjoy the change in the status of their relationship.   
  
Then something poked her ribs. She shifted, and the spell was broken. Turning around, she saw, REALLY saw Shinichi again. Not the Conan-Shinichi, but Shinichi as his REAL self. Her vision turned blurry and she hadn't realized she was crying until Shinichi reached out and wiped away her tears.   
  
"Why the tears?" He asked gently.   
  
Ran gave a half laugh, and ran her fingers over features as familiar to herself as her own. "Nothing, just very very glad indeed that you are back. Truly back." Shinichi's hands caught hers before she could proceed further. "You're crying yourself."  
  
"Am I? Must be the wind," he grinned a bit awkwardly. She smiled back. Still the same old Shinichi who would never let her see his tears, even the handful of times he had shed them when they were young. Then, she noticed the black box in his right hand, the thing that had poked her earlier. "What's this?" She asked curiously.  
  
The ceiling suddenly became intensely interesting as Shinichi hummed and hawed and dithered around the subject until Ran could take it no longer and opened the box herself.   
  
"Oh!" Ran's eyes were wide when she saw the thin silver necklace inside the box. And the silver heart.   
  
"Do you like it?" Shinichi asked nervously. He really had no clue as to what girls really liked. Even Ran, whom he had grown up with, puzzled him with her choices in jewelry though he could never fault her fashion sense. But he had tried, and the Professor had tried. They ended up with this small silver locket that he hoped Ran would like. And which the Professor finally managed to squeeze all his requirements in.   
  
"Its, its....perfect," Ran raised cornflower blue eyes to him and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Gods, she was beautiful. He didn't want to know what he would have to do if Ran didn't like it. Because besides being a very special gift from him, it also held secrets that might help both of them in the days to come. Secrets Ran mustn't know yet.  
  
Taking the locket from her, Shinichi deftly touched the small screw at the side. With a soft click, the locket flipped open into half, revealing the picture he had placed of both of them inside. A small picture that they had taken at one of the school fairs a few years back.   
  
"So that even when I'm not by your side, you will know that my thoughts are with you," Shinichi was now blushed bright red from head to toe. It seemed to be a habit with him recently. Especially around her. "A pledge that I would never ever leave you alone again."  
  
Ran's eyes filled with tears again. She was more touched by this gesture than anything else he had ever done for her.   
  
"Oh Shinichi! Thank you!" As Ran hugged him tightly, Shinichi wished with all his heart that they would not have any cause to use the other implementations he had asked the Professor to add to that small locket. Ever.  
  
Please God, just let her be safe.   
  
************************************************************  
  
  
After leaving Ran, Shinichi walked towards one of the larger guestrooms where he knew the one he sought would be in. Entering the dimly lit room, he paused as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.  
  
"I've been expecting you," the voice came out among shadows where he could vaguely see the outlines of a body on an old armchair.   
  
He sighed. "Are we going continue playing these games of half truths and intimation? Because they are not going to work you know. Not on me. And time is running out as you very well know."  
  
"Maybe you are right. I apologize. I have been playing these 'games', as you call them, for as long as I remember. So much so that I sometimes forgot that there are times where honesty and trust are needed more. But then, in my profession, both the above-mentioned qualities are very much lacking. Trust no one is the first rule they teach you at the academy you know. Even your superior may very well betray you if their morals are not high enough, as they rarely are."  
  
"And yours are?"   
  
"Point taken." A rueful smile. "I concede the battle to you. What do you want to know?"  
  
Shinichi said nothing as he just continued to look at the corner where the man known as Akai Shuichi sat. A sigh was heard from that direction. "Stubborn, just like your father. A quality that might benefit you greatly in future, but might just as well cause your downfall." The shadow got up and walked into the light. "Satisfied?"   
  
"Well, well, well. Your father showed me a photo of you before, but I must say, the picture certainly didn't do you enough justice." Akai Shuichi circled Shinichi in a way that made him wary.   
  
"Very pleased to meet you at last, Kudo Shinichi."  
  
"Cut the crap and tell me the truth."  
  
"Truth? What is truth? There is only one truth, as you always say. But who can say what is true and what is not? If you believe in something strongly enough, it may just be the truth. After all, there are so many unsolved mysteries out in the world."   
  
Shinichi scowled.   
  
"You really want the truth? Well then, the truth is. Shinichi, I am your father." Akai Shuichi said solemnly.  
  
Shinichi face-faulted.   
  
tbc.  
  
Well. That was fun. ^_^ *dunks flying tomatoes and all*  
Hey! It wasn't MY fault. At least, not entirely. I showed it to Ain and Hibbah.  
Ain thought why shouldn't I end it here. And I thought, why not? And Hibbah thought, why not?  
And so.....  
Comments and Criticisms please?? I'm desperate. I need to know what I am doing right or wrong...*pleas*  
  
*This takes place in Volume 32-33. XD A very nice chapter. Highly recommended.   
**He was one of the murderee in the movie. But he was killed by Gin instead of the real murderer  
***This is the murderer in the movie. Because of artistic reasons, he killed. Anyone notice that most of the movie murderers kill for artistic reasons? *wonders*  
  
C&C please!!! 


	6. Chapter 6

Revelations   
by Valerie Chow  
yeohk@pacific.net.sg  
  
Disclaimers: Standard Disclaimers apply.  
  
Please people, some C & C would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!  
  
Chapter 6  
  
*******************  
  
After picking himself up from the floor, Shinichi glared at the smirking Akai. "Was that really necessary?"  
  
"It alleviated the tension." Akai shrugged.  
  
Shinichi snorted. "That was the worst joke I had ever heard. Quoting Star Wars is NOT going to help you out of this.   
You are still going to tell me everything."  
  
"What makes you think it was a joke?" Akai looked faintly amused.  
  
Shinichi rolled his eyes. "If your age is anything to go by, you can't possibly have fathered me. Besides, I know   
Oka-san too well. She may moan and complain about Otou-san all she likes. But I know for sure that she would never betray   
him. And if Otou-san ever cheated on Oka-san, there would be hell to pay for him. He won't be alive now. Now STOP trying   
to change the subject and answer my QUESTION! And don't try to say that you haven't kept anything back!"  
  
"I haven't kept anything back." Akai said blandly.   
  
Shinichi grabbed the lapels of Akai's jacket and looked at him straight in the eye. "Don't play GAMES with me!"  
  
Akai just stared back at him evenly until Shinichi finally let go off his jacket. Slowly.   
  
Carelessly straightening his jacket, Akai just looked at him coldly and said in a voice as icy as the winds of Artic.  
"Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again."   
  
Even when he didn't want to give him the satisfaction, Shinichi was still the one to look away first. And he didn't   
like it one bit. Akai Shuichi, despite his easy banter and careless attitude, was a dangerous man. A very hard and cold   
one.   
  
"Don't treat me like a fool, Akai-san. I know there is something you haven't told me. Something important. And it   
may mean the success or failure of this operation. So tell me."   
  
Akai looked amused. "You are so sure." He walked towards the window and looked out. "What makes you think that what  
I have concealed would make or break this operation? And under what obligations, am I to tell you? This is my own private   
business. Nobody, and least of all, you, have any right to make me reveal it." Akai turned and looked at Shinichi   
contemptuously. "You may think you are very clever and intelligent; that you are sharp and observant. But I can tell you   
little boy, you know nothing, NOTHING of the real world out there. You are better off knowing nothing."   
  
"I do think that I should be the judge of that. Don't underestimate me, Akai-san," Shinichi snarled. He was getting   
really tired of all the verbal fencing with this man in front of him. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically. His   
body was screaming for him to rest, to recuperate from the added strain of the antidote he just took to his barely   
recovered body. Some of it must have been reflected on his face, for Akai looked at him for a while, then turned away.  
  
"You really want to know?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"It's not going to be easy."  
  
"I can take it."  
  
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Shinichi said nothing. Akai sighed. Hands in pockets, he strolled to the door and   
looked back at Shinichi. "Let's go some place more comfortable to talk."   
  
  
*************************  
  
"As you surmised, Hara Yoshiaki is my friend." Seated at the study of Kudo Yusaku, across two cups of steaming   
coffee is not precisely the way Shinichi had envisioned his talk with Akai Shuichi would be like. Glancing across the   
table at Akai, Shinichi thought they looked just as if they were two friends settling down one evening for a friendly chat.   
Nothing out of the ordinary. Then you look closer, and notice Akai's cold, hard eyes. Felt his visible tension. And realize that everything wasn't so pleasant.  
  
"Was, I should say." Akai took a sip of coffee and leaned back on his chair. "So was she." His eyes grew even icier,   
and Shinichi shivered. Was it his imagination or did the room suddenly dropped a few degrees in temperature? Not that the   
room was very warm in the first place. Shinichi managed to suppress a slight shiver. He didn't want to give Akai a bigger   
advantage than he already got.   
  
"She?"   
  
Akai nodded. He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He wasn't sure why he was telling all this to the boy.   
He had always prided himself on being able to keep his feelings to himself. Nobody has succeeded in piercing his outer   
shell. Even Kudo Yusaku did not, despite his attempts to. HE had only gotten to the tip of the iceberg. But Akai found   
himself considering telling Kudo Shinichi the whole story. He wasn't sure why it was so. Maybe because he had seen   
something of himself in the boy. The desire to get to the bottom of everything, and the will to do it. That was why he had   
joined the FBI after all. Perhaps the two of them aren't that different from each other, in spite of everything. He smiled   
inwardly. He wondered how Kudo Shinichi would react to THAT if he knew.   
  
But back to business.   
  
"Yoshiaki was my best friend, almost like my brother. We went into the Academy together, trained together. His air of  
innocence and naivety made him an ideal candidate for certain undercover missions. But make no mistake. He wasn't at all   
as simple as he seems."   
  
Shinichi thought back to the Hara Yoshiaki he had met and known before. He hadn't even noticed anything different   
about him from the others. And even after he died, it took him quite some time to notice and realize that there was   
something different about him. He was really good at his job. Mentally, he applauded the long-dead programmer. It took a   
lot to pull wool over his eyes. Few ever did. Akai was speaking again in that clinical tone of his, and with an effort,   
Shinichi focused on his words. His head was getting dizzy and he shook it slightly to clear it. He couldn't stop now. Not   
when Akai was finally telling him all the secrets. Then maybe, just MAYBE, he can finally place all the pieces of the   
puzzle together and get the whole picture.   
  
"Then when we graduated and were sent on our first real mission, we met her." Akai reflectively gripped his teacup   
harder without realizing it. Shinichi however, could see the small tiny cracks appearing on the side of the cup.   
  
"A jaded young socialite with a famous mother, two undercover agents with possible discovered identities, thrown   
together by circumstances. She helped us. Whether it was due to boredom or other plans for us, I don't know. The fact   
remains, however, she helped us, and as a result, the mission was successful."  
  
"Later on, when the whole business was over, the three of us had a talk. I wasn't particularly willing, but she   
persisted. And Yoshiaki agreed with her. She helped us, he insisted. It's only right that we meet her. To thank her at the   
very least. So we met. And we talked."  
  
Akai sighed. 'That was one foolish mistake you made old friend', he thought. 'We shouldn't have trusted her. I knew   
when I first saw her that she was bad news. But you thought she was someone who could help us because of her connections.   
And for that, you paid for it with your life.' He shook his head mentally to dispel the long dead memories and concentrated   
on the matter in hand.  
  
"She wanted to help us with our work. Particularly undercover work. She was bored, and helping us complete the   
mission had given her a taste of what danger was like. She was hungry for more. Besides, she had the connections we need   
to get to the upper classes. Something we need desperately to solve the case because our mission was only one small part   
of the whole. And she knew it."  
  
"I told her I couldn't do anything without my superior's permission. She just smiled slyly and said we don't NEED his  
permission. Just her help and discretion. Besides, meeting her and telling her almost the whole picture was also done   
without his permission, so what's keeping one more secret from him? She wasn't after official recognition or anything. She   
just wanted in."  
  
"I didn't take her seriously at first. Plainly, the woman in front of me was simply bored with life and wanted some   
excitement. And thought that playing cops and robbers would be her ticket out of her dreary life. She had no real   
understanding of the seriousness and danger that accompanies our job. She was simply looking for fun. And even if she was   
serious, she was a civilian. If anything goes wrong, she is expendable. We are not obligated to offer her any help."  
  
"I made that very clear to her. I thought that would deter her. After all, these privileged upper class would never   
risk a skin off their shinny hide. But she surprised me. She went and got disguise-lessons from her mother and turned up   
at our next assignment. I didn't know how she found out, but I can guess. Yoshiaki probably told her."  
  
Akai sighed. "He always WAS a sucker for a pretty face. So I told her she could join us. But in an unofficial   
capacity. And what I told her before still stands. If she is found out, she is on her own. We won't lift a finger to help   
her. I wasn't very happy with it, but I knew Yoshiaki would keep on feeding her the locations about our assignments until   
she joined us, so I thought I would save myself, and him all the trouble and just let her in. Besides, the first sight of   
real danger, and she would run away as fast as her little legs could carry her."  
  
"She stayed on with us however. I was surprised. Then I began to respect her guts for doing such a thing. She never   
squirmed from anything we told her to do. Even with all the blood and gore that is part of our profession. The inevitable   
thing happened. We fell in love. Or rather, we thought we fell in love."  
  
Akai laughed mirthlessly and his face had a very hard, closed look. "A few months after we were together, I received   
the appointment to be the commander of the operation to gather information on the so-called Black Organization. She seemed   
uncommonly interested in this Organization, but I thought she was just curious and bored because there weren't any new   
missions for the past few months. When I decided to send Yoshiaki to undercover in the Organization, she wanted to go to.   
I thought I knew her because we've known each other for a quite a long time already, I agreed. Besides Yoshiaki, she WAS   
the best undercover agent I knew off. Even unofficially. If BOTH of them entered the Organization, chances of us breaking   
the case was higher. And it would be safer with two people. Or so I thought. Of course, I sent others in too, but the   
others didn't know each other. That was the precaution I took so that if one got found out, the others wouldn't be dragged   
in. Ruthless I know, but that is life."  
  
"They went in. Things were just getting on quite well, when she sent me a note telling me that she was finished with   
me and was joining the Organization. For real."  
  
"It was a shock. And I was furious. Not only at her, but also at myself. Because of my stupidity, I almost condemned   
all my men to death. I quickly gave the order for those still remaining to draw out, but it was too late. They were all   
eliminated within days of each other. Except for Yoshiaki. I commanded him to move out, but he refused. He couldn't believe  
she would betray us. He wanted to ask her, to confront her." Akai snorted contemptuously. "Like I said, he was a sucker for  
a pretty face."   
  
"He didn't listen to me. We had a fight when we met up and he left, determined that all this was a trick, a   
misunderstanding and that just as soon as he could find her, all will be resolved. That, was the last time I heard from   
him. The next information I received was that he had died, holding a silver knife in his hand."  
  
"That was when I declared war."  
  
"Who was 'she'?"   
  
"You really want to know?"  
  
It hurt for him to think. His mind was getting foggy and it hurts. HURTS. What was happening?  
  
"That goes without saying."  
  
"She is the daughter of the famous actress, Sharon Vineyard."  
  
His body began to feel warm. And HOT. What was happening?   
  
"She went by the name of Vermouth in the Black Organization."  
  
With an effort, he forced himself to concentrate on what Akai was saying.  
  
"And from what you said just now, in the living room, she may be the Jodie Saintemillion you are suspecting."  
  
Silence. Outside, the sounds of crickets. Someone sneezed, but Shinichi was too occupied to notice that it sounded   
suspiciously near.   
  
Pieces of a puzzle.   
  
Pieces. Treading together with the arrival of this man in front of him. Strangely, Shinichi didn't find it weird to   
find out that Jodie Saintemillion was actually Vermouth as well as Chris Vineyard. Perhaps some part of him had already   
felt it. Had already KNOWN it. It just hadn't reached his brain until it was all set out in front of him.   
  
An almost visible tension was in the air when Akai had finished his story and leaned back against his chair, sipping   
his coffee. His eyes were fixed on the boy sitting motionless in front of him, plainly waiting for a reaction.   
  
Shinichi on his part, was feeling very uncomfortable. Figuratively and literally. After the initial shock, he had   
realized, too late, that he had forced himself into a part of Akai Shuichi that was very private. A part that was rarely   
shown to anyone. He didn't know how to react to the story. He didn't think Akai would take kindly to pity and he wasn't   
sure he wanted to sympathize with Akai. Why Akai decided to tell him the story was another question he wasn't sure he   
wanted the answer too. There was such a thing as knowing too much.   
  
But with the story, came understanding. Somewhat. He doubted he would ever really understand the man before him.   
  
The pieces of the puzzles that were given into his keeping were now falling into place. Piece by piece. There was   
now only one more missing piece. A piece he suspected Akai would ALSO be able to supply. He forced his brain to keep on   
working, to looked at the near-to-completion puzzle that now laid in his mind. But he found that the mush in his brain was  
making it hard for him to think. And the room was starting to swirl around him too. He wasn't feeling hot anymore, he was   
now COLD. He pressed his hand against his temple, and doggedly reached for the cup in front of him. A drink would do him   
good. Clear the fog in his brain.  
  
Just as his fingers touched the cup however, he felt strength leave his body. NO. Not NOW. Then Akai was there, his   
hands pushing his cup away from him, and easing him down onto the couch, his touch surprisingly tender.   
  
Shinichi forced his eyes to open and he looked at the rapidly dimming image in front of him. "I still....don't really  
...trust you." With an effort, he made himself loud enough to be heard by the other man.   
  
"You shouldn't. I don't expect you to, either." And that was the last thing he heard before he sank into   
unconsciousness completely.   
  
Akai Shuichi straightened up and looked towards the open doorway. "You can come out now."   
  
Sheepishly, Kudo Yusaku and Kudo Yukiko emerged from the door and stood before him, looking for all in the world like  
two errant children caught with their fingers in the cookie jar. "How did you know?"  
  
Akai shrugged. "It wasn't hard. I could smell Yukiko-san's perfume and you sneezed once, Kudo-san. It wasn't   
noticeable, but I was trained to hear everything." He smiled grimly. "If your son wasn't tired out and stressed, he would   
have heard you too."  
  
Yukiko went over to the sleeping Shinichi, worried. "Don't worry, Yukiko-san. Your son is alright. He is just tired   
from all the things that had happened to him so far. That and the strain the antidote is putting on his weaken body. He's   
just asleep. Now, if you would excuse me, I will be seeking my own bed now too."   
  
Yusaku nodded to Akai as he walked past him. "Thank you for taking care of my son, Akai-san."   
  
Akai Shuichi didn't answer.  
  
After he left the room, Yukiko looked up at Yusaku worriedly. "Are you sure we can trust him?"   
  
"We have no choice, do we?" Yusaku sighed. "Come Yukiko. Let us put our wayward son back into his bed. We'll think   
of something tomorrow."   
  
******************************************************  
  
".........So in the end, she turned to the dark side and left him?" Hattori Heiji asked Kudo Shinichi. Shinichi was   
filling Heiji in on the things that happened yesterday when he was absent. The two boys were seated on the veranda in   
Shinichi's house that morning after. Sunlight filtered in though the branches of the trees in the courtyard, giving them   
ample light without much heat. Even so, the two boys were dressed casually in thin shirts to combat the heat. Summertime   
in Tokyo was not to be taken lightly.   
  
Shinichi just stared at Heiji. Then he buried his face in his hands.   
  
"If someone else comes up to me and tells me Ran is my sister next, I'm going to KILL that person*." He said   
muffledly from behind his hands.   
  
Heiji just stared at him. Both Kazuha and him had came over to the Kudo house early that morning to find out how   
things were going and had met Ran on the way. Well, HE did anyway, Kazuha was still in the dark about the situation,   
though she did shoot him one or two suspicious looks when he insisted on going to Kudo's house and since he couldn't leave   
Kazuha alone in the hotel without him, he had forced Kazuha to go along with him. And no, Kazuha was just trying to cover   
her tail feathers when she told Ran that SHE was the one doing the dragging because he woke up late.   
  
Heiji blinked. Twice. "Neechan is your SISTER??" He gasped in confusion. "But...but...isn't that incest or something?  
To love your SISTER? And why didn't you tell me about this before?"  
  
Shinichi just sighed. "Never mind, Hattori."  
  
Heiji snickered. "Relex, Kudo. I get what you mean. I watch movies too you know."  
  
Shinichi glared. Heiji raised up his hands in mock surrender, "Come on, Kudo, can't take a joke?" Shinichi just   
rubbed his temples and sighed again.  
  
Silence descended on the two boys as they sat there, contemplating the garden that spread out before them. Birds   
chirped from the nearby tree. Shinichi took a sip from his coke, mind still on the enigma that was Akai Shuichi when Heiji   
broke the silence between them.  
  
"So. How are you bearing up, Kudo?"  
  
"Huh?" Shinichi turned his head and looked at Heiji, puzzlement in his eyes.  
  
"You can't lie to me Kudo. You have been pressing your head every few minutes and rubbing your eyes. There are very   
heavy shadows below your eyes, which I can see, no matter how much foundation you have on. You may be able to bluff it past  
Neechan and the others, but not me. I AM the Detective of the West you know. And I would like to know where DID you get the  
foundation from?"   
  
Shinichi gave a hoarse laugh. "I never really thought it would. Sometimes, you are the only one besides Ran who know   
me that well." He sighed. "I don't know Hattori. I really don't know. Maybe taking the antidote right now is taxing my body  
too much at this point of time. I've been getting headaches every few hours since yesterday. I get tired very easily, much   
more than the other time when I changed back. And no matter how much I rest or eat, I always seem to feel weak."  
  
Shinichi continued in an emotionless tone, looking at a point beyond Heiji's face. "I don't want to feel weak Hattori.  
Not at this time. I want to feel like myself again. Able to kick football and think logically and critically. Not to have   
to waddle through tons of mush in my brain to reach the correct solution tucked away just at that little corner in my head." The empty coke can in his hand was   
crusted as his hands flexed automatically. He threw it towards the dustbin nearby, only to watch it bounce on the edge and   
fall to the ground.  
  
"Damn."   
  
Heiji studied the morose boy on the other side of the table. "Give it some time, Kudo. You have only just recovered from   
your injuries. Perhaps the weakness is a result of your incomplete recovery from the incident." He tried to comfort his   
friend. It wasn't LIKE Shinichi to look so depressed and lifeless. It scared him. More than he dared to admit. For as long   
as he had known him, Kudo Shinichi had always seemed a very confident, if a bit corky young man. Slightly full of himself   
but clever and resourceful. Someone he could rely on. Someone he could trust. Looking now at the tired young man with old eyes sitting   
before him, Heiji suddenly had a very horrible feeling that he would never see Kudo again. He shook his head to dispel the   
feeling, but couldn't really dismiss it. Remembering the last time he had a dream about Kudo* and what happened after   
didn't help matters either.  
  
Luckily, the girls came out of the house at that moment, breaking up the somber mood. Looking at the two girls   
dressed attractively and simply in blouses and skirts, Heiji couldn't help but let out a whistle of admiration. Then he   
noticed how short Kazuha's skirt was.  
  
"Kazuha! What were you thinking, wearing a skirt THAT short?" He nearly shouted. He couldn't BELIEVE Kazuha was   
really considering wearing a skirt THAT short out. It was...it was....well, it was SHORT! Much too short for her to be   
wearing out in Tokyo, with so many other idiot men around. What would her father think?   
  
Kazuha stared at the fuming Heiji and laughed. "You were right, Ran-chan," she said cryptically. She turned to Heiji.   
"Heiji, what I wear, is my business. Who are you to dictate what I am to wear and what not? You are not my anybody! Besides,  
Ran-chan is wearing a skirt as short as mine is, so why are you not saying anything to her?" Kazuha's eyes were wide, and   
deliberately guiless.  
  
Heiji spluttered. "I'm your...I'm your....." Kazuha just laughed merrily and winked at Ran. Ran however was studying   
Shinichi thoughtfully. She frowned and was about to raise her hand to touch his face, only to be intercepted by him.   
  
Shinichi smiled. "Where are you going with Kazuha-san? And in such a short skirt too." He put it mildly, unlike   
Heiji, who was making a sound like a teakettle ready to boil over. His face was already as red as a tomato. Ran, however,   
could see the steel in Shinichi's eyes as he said this, and the wordless plea for her not to ask. She decided to just go   
along with him for the moment but promised herself she would get to the bottom of it when she came back. Whether he liked   
it or not. Besides, it was fun to rile him up. It was not everyday she could get him to be jealous.   
  
"It's not THAT short, Shinichi. That's the normal length. There's a reason they're called mini-skirts you know." She   
laughed at the outraged expression in both the boys' faces. "We're just going out to get some stuff. Kazuha-chan wants to   
get a new pair of sandals and I was thinking of getting some flowers for your house and all. Its dreary."  
  
Shinichi looked out at the garden in front of him. "Flowers?" He raised an eyebrow.  
  
Ran giggled. "Yes, flowers. What you have now in your garden, Oh Great-Detective-of-the-East, are weeds." Saying she   
tweaked his nose before planting a kiss on his forehead.   
  
Shinichi looked bemused as Ran took the starry-eyed Kazuha's hand and walked towards the gate. Heiji was still doing   
his best to impersonate a landed fish. "We'll be back for lunch, don't worry! And Shinichi?" Ran called.  
  
"Yes?" Shinichi grinned slightly at the now blushing Ran. Sunlight reflected off the silver necklace he gave her the   
night before, making him squint slightly to see her clearly.  
  
"You take care of yourself okay? I don't want to come back to see you flat on your back or back at the hospital   
again. Hattori-kun! I'm holding you responsible for his health!" With that last parting shot, the two girls went out the   
gates, turned a corner, and disappeared, leaving only the sounds of their laughter still in the air.  
  
Shinichi was still smiling slightly before the sight of Heiji's cheeky grin brought him back to Earth abruptly.   
"What?" He asked irritably.   
  
"Nothing, nothing," the grin on Heiji's face belied his words.   
  
Shinichi huffed. "We're meeting Megure-kebu at 10am, we should be getting ready soon."   
  
"Yes, oh-wise-Great-Detective-of-the-East-who-can't-differenciate-weeds-from-flowers." Heiji mock-bowed.  
  
Shinichi glared at him. The he looked at him again. Smirked. "Well, then   
Oh-Great-Detective-of-the-West-who-is-still-in-a-state-of-denial, how are things with Kazuha-san recently?"  
  
Predictably, Heiji went red. "Its none of your business! We are just FRIENDS! FRIENDS! Nothing more, you hear me? She  
is just an annoying, irritable girl whom I just happen to grow up with! That's all!"  
  
"Sure, Hattori, whatever you say."   
  
The two boys went back into the house, with Heiji protesting his innocence every step of the way. To no avail   
unfortunately.  
  
********************************************  
  
"Ran."   
  
Ran turned around from the rack of clothes she was looking through to face her friend. They were at a small but   
trendy shop near the town center after getting the required items.   
  
Kazuha was standing right behind her with a very steady expression on her face. Her fingers were gripping the bags   
tightly. There was an air of determination around her that Ran knew had been building up ever since they had left the   
house this morning. She knew what Kazuha was feeling. Like her, Kazuha was never one to be wrapped up in satin and silk then   
shut up in an ivory tower, regardless what the male population around them thought. And since the said male population   
wasn't being very forthcoming with information, Kazuha was now going to grill her. Actually, she had been expecting it   
ever since Kazuha expressed a wish for a shopping trip this morning.   
  
"Talk?" Ran smiled wryly.  
  
"Talk. But not here. There was a coffee shop nearby, do you...?" Kazuha gestured vaguely.  
  
"No. Let's go then."   
  
They were halfway there before they were stopped.  
  
****************************  
  
Kazuha's eyes darted from one face to the other. Ran was acting weirdly ever since they met this lady teacher of   
hers. Well, to be honest, she was acting weirdly ever since Heiji and she arrived in Tokyo. Hell, everyone was acting   
weirdly, what with Conan-kun sent to the hospital because of bullet wounds, _again_, Kudo Shinichi turning up, _again_ out   
of nowhere, Heiji acting all mysterious and jittery and all those lame excuses that everyone was making to get her out of   
the way. Oh yes, she wasn't stupid. Neither was she blind. Kazuha knew that something was up, and she was out of it where   
else everyone was in. Not something she liked.   
  
And it was beginning to seem that while this lady teacher was here, she wasn't going to get anything out of Ran   
either. Darn.  
  
Ran was still looking alternatively freaked out and just a bit hostile. The lady teacher, Jodie-sensei, Kazuha   
thought Ran said, was looking amused and was there just a spark of anticipation in her eye? God. Kazuha didn't like the   
looks of this at all.  
  
Ran suddenly erupted from her chair and pulled Kazuha up along with her. "Jodie-sensei! I'm sorry, but I need to go   
to the ladies. Kazuha-chan. Come with me." It wasn't a question, and before Kazuha knew it, she was being dragged away.  
  
Once in the ladies, Kazuha looked on incredulously as Ran rapidly tried the tiny windows on top of the walls, even   
so far as to stand on one of the toilet bowls to reach a high skylight.   
  
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "Ran-chan!"   
  
"Hush, Kazuha-chan, can't you see that I'm busy here? You need to get out of here. Now! It isn't safe. She knows   
that I know. So you need to get away. I'll tell her err...you had something on and had to rush off. Or something. I will   
think of something, but right now, the most important thing is for you to get away!"   
  
An animal-like growl erupted from her throat. She noticed that Ran-chan didn't mention anything about herself getting  
away. She was sick and tired of everyone keeping things from her and treating her like a child that needed protection from 'those nasty things outside', as she once heard her nursery school teacher said. She never did like her teacher much. Kazuha scowled. This ends NOW! Before   
she did something she regretted. Heiji was already on her list of 'make someone regret they ever crossed her'. She didn't   
want to add Ran-chan onto the list too.   
  
"Mouri Ran! I am NOT going anywhere unless you tell me exactly what the hell is going on here! I am sick and tired   
of being in the dark about everything! And if you think that I'm leaving you here while I run away like a scared little dog   
with it's tail tucked between its legs, you've got another thing coming!" Kazuha took a deep breath to calm her jagged   
nerves.   
  
"Please Ran-chan. Tell me what is going on. I need to know. _You_ understand, right? Please Ran-chan?"   
  
Ran faltered in her act of prying open the locked and bolted window at one corner of the toilet.  
  
"I'm sorry Kazuha-chan. I really mean to tell you all about it, but then, _this_ had to come up. But please believe   
me! I didn't mean to keep things from you, but now is not the time to tell you everything! You need to leave! Before _she_   
comes in here to check why we are gone so long. It's too dangerous for you to stay here! We can't let her have too much of   
a leverage over us! Just...just trust me, please Kazuha-chan."  
  
Kazuha's eyes softened, then hardened again. "No. If I'm in danger, so are you. Doubly so, since you seem to know   
what is going on. And if you think I am going to willingly leave you alone to face whatever it is that is going to happen,   
you really don't know me that well, do you? Come on Ran-chan. I gather that this Jodie-sensei is someone dangerous, from   
the way you are acting, but really Ran-chan, what can she do to us? We are in the middle of the coffee shop you know? She   
can't possibly knock us out or gag us and then kidnap us, can she?"  
  
***********************  
  
Apparently, she could.   
  
Ran scowled and cursed internally for her moment of weakness in letting Kazuha stay. Truth to be told, she was rather   
glad that Kazuha was staying with her while she try to see this whole show to the end-she felt better knowing she at least   
had someone she knew and trusted with her-but on the other hand, she shuddered as she thought of what Hattori would say.   
No, best not to dwell on that. She needed to focus on the present.  
  
Staring down at that innocent cup of tea set down in front of her while she and Kazuha were at the ladies, she   
noticed that there were a few grains of something brown at the bottom. Some sort of anaesthetics? She hadn't expect her   
teacher to be that obvious. She sneaked a look at Kazuha beside her. She was also staring at her cup too, with a wary   
expression on her face. Jodie-sensei, she noticed, was idly tapping one perfectly manicured fingernail on the tabletop.   
Her nails were painted a brilliant red, she noticed. Funny, how one remembered such things under conditions of extreme   
stress. Ran's stomach twisted painfully as she continued her contemplation of that nearly perfect teacup. With it's nearly   
perfect tea inside. Anticipating something when you know what was going to happen sucks. She looked up at Jodie-sensei.  
  
"What's the matter, Mouri-san? Is the tea not to your, err _satisfaction_?" Jodie-sensei smiled innocently.   
  
She knew. She knew that Ran knew about the tea. Her smile grew even wider as realization flashed across Ran's brain.   
She knew! And she didn't care! She was waiting, like a predatory cat, setting a trap for the little mouse and watching what  
the little mouse would do once it realized the trap. Suddenly, Ran was glad that Kazuha-chan had managed to convince her to   
call her father's recording machine back at the agency to leave a message before they left the toilet. At least they would   
know where they were when they didn't return on time.   
  
Ran swallowed. Don't back off now. Remember, this is for Shinichi. She took up the innocent looking teacup and with   
a last glance at Kazuha beside her, drowned it down in one gulp.  
  
Her sight became blurry and things started to spin. 'These things sure work very quickly,' she thought somewhat fuzzily.  
  
The last thing she saw was those blood red fingernails tapping a light rhythm on the tabletop.   
  
Then darkness.  
  
  
***************  
  
The one known as Jodie Saintemillion and Chris Vineyard curled her lips as the two girls sitting in front of her   
slumped forward onto the table, unconscious.   
  
"Ninmu kanryou**," she quoted with a smirk on her face.   
  
It was silly and pathetic. Walking straight into the trap when you knew precisely there was one. And the one also   
known as Vermouth hated pathetic people. Oh she knew what Mouri-san was trying to do. She was just about as transparent as a piece of   
glass. She was trying to get information out of her. By sending herself straight into her arms.   
  
She snorted. And she had _such_ high hopes for her too. She even liked Mouri-san. A little. Her little   
Angel, as her mother would say.  
  
Oh well, it was all to the best really. They both got what they wanted and she could then afford to play with her   
_real_ toy just a little longer. The Osaka girl was just another bonus. The more the merrier, or so they say.   
  
She shrugged. Smiled. Snapped her fingers. The prompt arrival of the coffee shop proprietor just emphasized how much   
everything was within her plan. And the naivety of those who thought to oppose her.  
  
"You know what to do." The proprietor nodded. Within minutes, the two unconscious girls were bundled up and   
transferred into a nearby vehicle with none the wiser. It was really easy, how one could just do as one wished if one knew   
the correct people.   
  
Or belonged to the correct organization.  
  
After the proprietor collected the two, shall we say, souvenirs from Vermouth and left, she stood up, brushed away   
an imaginary lint on her light gray blouse.   
  
Time for her to get to work.  
  
tbc...  
  
**************  
  
* Anyone caught the reference? It's a pun on Star Wars. No? Anybody? ::silence::  
::sweatdrops:: Never mind.   
* *This is from Gundam Wing. Heero Yuy::snickers:: I'm on a Gundam Wing kick lately.   
  
Author's notes: Darn. Only two people got my Star Wars pun at the last chapter. ::Sighs:: I must be doing something wrong.   
Oh well. I'm sorry it took so long to get it out. ::sweatdrops:: I got...distracted, for the lack of a better word.   
*laughs* I had wanted to get it out a few weeks ago, when Star Wars Episode Two came out, to sort of commemorate it, but   
sadly, it is not to be. ::sighs::   
Please people, some C & C would be nice to tell me where I am doing wrong and right? Please??? ::hopeful look:: 


End file.
